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illustrent  la  m6thode. 


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pARKJ 


M 


pARKMAN  QLUB   PUBLICATIONS 

No.  7 

MiLWAUKKK,  Wl8.,  JuNB  9,  1896 


2Gr?^56     4i5ar; 


Eleazer  Wiluams-His  Forerunners,  Himself 


WILLIAM  WARD  WIGHT 


(Copyright,  1896,  by  WUliam  Ward  Wi«l|t) 


BifiLIOJHBQUe 
PHILEAftSACMON, 


Kl.l-.A/KK    Willi  \M^. 


ELKAZER  WILLIAMS— UTS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


Until  witliin  a  roccnt  period  it  had  been  supposed  that  the  claim? 

for  royal  descent  for  Eleazer  Williams  had  been  abandoned,  that  they 

were,   in  truth,  as 

"Dead  as  tlu-  l)ulrii8liP8  round  littlo  Moses 
On  the  old  banks  of  the  Nile." 

The  pul)lioation.  liowcvor.  by  a  reputable  London  house,  of  The 
Story  of  Louis  Xl'If.  of  Fyaiicc.^  and  the  appearance  of  many  news- 
paper screeds  relying  upon  that  volume  as  authority  have  re-directed 
attention  to  these  extravagant  pretensions  and  justify,  even  if  they  do 
not  demand,  this  present  writing. 

In  the  parish  church  of  St.  Nicholas  in  Great  Yarmouth,  Norfolk. 
Robert  eldest  son  of  Stephen  and  Margaret  (Cooke)  Wilyams  was 
baptised  on  December  ii,  1608.  Robert's  wife,  Elizabeth  Stalhani. 
was  a  year  or  thereabouts  her  husband's  junior.  Robert  was  a  cord- 
wainer  and  plied  his  trade  in  his  native  shire  from  1623  until  he  de- 
serted his  ancestral  shores.  On  April  8,  1637,  he  with  his  wife  and 
their  four  children  Samuel,  John,  l-ilizabeth  and  Deborah,  was  exam- 
ined preliminary  to  emigration  to  New  England.  One  week  later  the 
family  sailed  in  the  Rose  of  Yarmouth  for  Boston.  Others  of  the 
same  siniamc  from  the  same  neighborhood  followed  their  example. 
Forthwith  Robert  made  pcrm.incnt  settlement  in  Roxbury  where  in 
1643  his  household,  now  augmented  to  six  children,  dwelt  upon  an 
estate  of  twenty-five  acres.  As  a  member  of  the  church  of  the  Rev. 
John  Eliot,  and  as  otherwise  i|ualified.  Robert  was  made  a  freeman 
-May    !o,    1643.- 

lle  was  a  personage  t)f  strong  fibre — a  rigitl  Puritan.  Self-exiled 
lor  conscit'nce's  sake,  his  conscience  was  his  constant  mentor.  .\  single 
iiu-ident  will  picture  his  character:  The  magistrates  of  Massachusetts 
Ray   sent   letters  to  the  several   towns   in    1672,    recjuesting   pecimiary 


1.  Tlie  story  of  Ixiiils  XVII.  of  Franco  By  Kllzahcth  R.  Evans.  .Sw.in.  Sin- 
McsclK'ii)    &,  Co.,    Tendon,    189,1. 

2.  Williams'  Koljert  ■Williams,  nililfinln  Ilotteu's  Orlcliinl  lists.  2:i0,  202:  Ii'?t- 
l<Ms  (if  I'Mward  H.  Williams,  Jr.,  of  Bclhloliem,  I'a.;  Now  r.iiKlnncl  llislnrical  and 
clonoal.idloal  Uocislor,  II,  .-)3:  III,  liV):  XIV,  ;{2.">:  XXXV,  217:  XI.IV,  212;  XI,VII. 
.'i(i;!.  Tills  last  sot  will  liGreinatter  lio  ahhrovlatod  to  RoBlster.  All  a'ldinilllos  fitPd 
^^IH  lio  oniinioratoil   witli   fuilor  ttllos  in   Appendix-   1. 


I    II 


134 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


assistance  for  Harvard  CollcRc  and  inviting  criticisms  upon  the  con- 
duct of  the  institution.  Roxbury,  wiiile  not  refusing  the  aid,  rcpHed 
on  March  5,  1672,  complaining  of  an  evil  in  the  method  of  education— 
that  the  youth  were  brought  up  in  pride  ill  fitting  persons  intended 
lor  either  the  magistracy  or  the  ministry,  and  particularizing  their 
wearing  long  hair,  even  in  the  pulpit,  to  the  great  grief  and  fear  of 
many  godly  hearts.  Prominent  among  the  endorsers  of  this  indictmeni 
were  Robert  Williams  and  his  son  Samuel.-' 

Both  Robert  and  Elizabeth  Williams  died  in  Ro.xbury— the  former, 
September  i,  ,693,  the  latter,  July  28,  i674.^They  were  tjic  progenitors 
of  many  distiiiguished  and  honored  Americans:  not  a  few  of  these, 
despite  the  capillary  criticism,  were  graduates  of  Harvard,  and  one, 
Colonel  Ephraim  Williams,  was  himself  the  founder  of  a  college.^ 

Samuel  Williams,  the  eldest  surviving  son  of  the  emigrant,  whose 
age  at  death  allows  1632  to  be  computed  as  his  probable  birth  year, 
was,  like  his  father,  a  cordwainer.  He  was  a  deacon,  and  from  Decem- 
ber 9,  1677,  ruling  elder,  in  the  Roxbury  church.  On  March  2,  1654, 
he  married  Theoda.  born  July  26,  16.17.  the  eldest  daughter  of  Deacon 
William  and  Martha  (Holgrave)  Parke  of  Roxbury.  There  Sanmel 
became  a  freeman  in  March,  1658,  there  he  died  September  2?^.  lOoH. 
and  there  his  widow  died  August  2,  1718." 

The  second  son  of  this  pair,  John,  over  whose  strange,  sad  history 
the  veil  of  human  sympathy  has  long  and  fondly  hung,  was  born  in 
Roxbury  December  10,  1664.^  Educated  by  the  generosity  of  hi'; 
grandfather  Parke  he  graduated  in  1683  at  Harvard  College,'^  d(ml)t- 
Icss  without  long  hair,  and  entered  the  ministry.  He  married  July  21. 
1687.  Eunice,  born  August  2.  1664.  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Ivlea/.er  and 
Esther  Mather  of  Northampton.  Esther  being  the  daughter  ct  tlie 
Rev.  John  Warham  of  Windsor.  :\Ir.  Mather,  who  was  born  in  Dor- 
chester May  13.  1637,  and  died  July  24.  i6(k).  was  a  brother  of  the  Rev. 
Increase  Mather  and  a  son  of  the  emigrant  the  Rev.  Richard  Matlicr 
(born  1596.  died  April  22,  i66()).>'  Upon  the  premature  dealli  d  the 
Rev.  Eleazer  ^father,  his  widow  Esther  (who  died  aged  nmcty-two 
vears  Ecbruarv  10.  1736)  married  Solomon  Stoddard  of  .North.-mpton, 


She  thus   became   the   mother   of   Caiitain   John   Stoddard, 
ruary  17,  i(>8-',  who  figures  brictly  later  in  ihi-;  narrative. 


bnrn    l-'i'li- 


:•,.    it.yisid-  x.xxv,  \'S2.  vs;. 

1.      Iti'uisl.M-    .\X.\1V,    «l.  . 

-,      'liH'    U.v     Sly.    Vmi   UrtisMhi.r.    in    his    llisturicill    I»i«i'..lli'se.    r.l,    s.i.vs.    ot    Ih- 
,„,„„1,.,.    ,,f    Wllliiua.    Cun.r...    ••Kpl.n.ini    WUlianis    wa-^    ,1.  s.vmlcl    from    tli.'    b.M    T'n- 

1 .|i,,i,i    u.    ;!7il:     Wil!i:nii>'    Uolnit     Williams.     .;     Williams      W  i\ 

U,-;isHi-    X.WIV.    il'.i.      SlM-ldc.ii    i.iiiiK    AilL'iisI    IIH,     ITI^.    iii-l-a.l    ..f 


C.     Slii'lilipii's 

Hams   famll.v,    :!•''■. 

.\ii-Misr    'J.     171S. 

7.     Williams 

•s.     Williams 


ISiiiMl!       Willi.lMI>^. 

Itnli'i  iiiimI   laplivi 


;    Slii'l.lna's    n.  .  rlii'lil.    11.    ."Til. 
mi;    Slli|i-x's    llanaiil   -railnali 


III, 


Kiiilsl.i-   VI,   21'. 


,|P 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


135 


160H. 


Minute,  perhaps  tedious,  have  been  thesi'  genealogical  details — yet, 
purposely  minute,  that  it  might  clearly  appear  how  gentle  the  llower 
of  saintly  New  England  growth  that  was  forcefully  transplanted  from 
Deerfield  into  the  wildernesses  of  Canada  to  bloom,  and  fade,  in  exile 
tlierc. 

Deerfield,  or  Pocunituck  meaning  High  Rock  Place, 1**  was  on 
ilic  outskirts  of  the  Massachusetts  world  when  the  Rev.  John  Williams 
hegan  to  preach  there  in  June,  1686.  His  little  following  was  formally 
organized  into  a  church  and  he  ordained  its  pastor  October  17,  1688.1^ 
Here  he  faithfully  ministered  to  a  loyal  flock;  here  were  born  the 
eleven  children  of  his  marriage  with  Eunice  Mather.12  Yet  in  much 
disquietude  was  his  life  passed.  More  than  once  in  the  circling  years 
Hie  dusky  prowler  surprised  the  sleeping  village;  more  than  once  the 
ruthless  hatchet  and  the  pitiless  ritle  wrought  their  ruin  among  its 
brave  inhabitants.  These  pathetic  events  pertain  not  to  my  theme; 
yet  of  one,   brief  mention   is  necessary. 

J''arly  in  tiie  morning  of  leap-year  day,  1704,  three  hundred  and 
forty  French  and  Indians^''  under  Major  Hertel  do  Rouville  attacked 
the  slumbering  inhabitants.  A  few  happily  escaped,  more  were  slain, 
still  more — chattel  i)roperly  for  their  greedy  captors — were  taken  pris- 
oners. The  narrative  of  that  fatal  morning  of  February  29,  1704,  may 
be  read  in  many  histories — in  Penhallow,  Hoyt,  Dwigiit,  Parkman, 
Sheldon  '^ 

.Seven  cliikiren  of  tiie  Rev.  John  Williams  were  sleeping  peace- 
fully at  home  when  the  assault  began.  Two  of  these,  John  and  a  babe 
Jerusha  were  killed;  five, —  Samuel,  Iv^tlur,  Stephen,  Eunice  and  War- 
iiani  were  captivated.  These  last  with  their  parents  and  more  than  one 
hundred  other  prisoners  were  started  without  delay  upon  a  cold  and 
dreary  journey  across  Vermont  to  their  ^Mture  Canadian  abodes.  Upon 
the  second  day  of  their  wintry  tramp,  ]\tarch  i,  Mrs.  Williams,  whose 
eontinement  had  been  recent,^'  with  failing  strength  was  fording  Green 
River  five  miles  northwest  of  Greenfield.  No  friend  was  near  to 
.Insist  her.  lor  liie  c;i;itiv.'s  h;id  been  sprinkled  here  .'ind  tliere  among 

li>.     K.-^isti'i     NWIII.    i.'m;.      Ciiisiiill    Ms    tii    li.'.-iliulil    New    V.rk    Colmiial    Doen- 

iiiiius,  IV.  lusa,  loiMj. 

11.  Slulilons  l)o(!fliil(l   J,  '.IT:   WIIIIiiiiih'   Uedt'cmi'd  raijiivc,  l»i;;   Ufgi.jiLT.   VI.  T-t. 

12.  The  names  ami  vital  statistics  of  ihcsi'  clilUlieii  form  -Viipi'iiJl.t  II.  A  ped- 
ii-'i-ee  of  iiiciiilMis  of  tlio  WlUlaiiis  fauiily  iiirntiimt'd   in  tins  iiainr  furmM  Appeudlx  III. 

1;;.  Two  Imiidrcd  I'rench  und  the  rouialiijfi-  Indians— partly  Hnsluni  Indians  in 
native  costnnii',  partly  iluliuwks  or  Msiciinas  (lallod  Mai|na>s  in  .\.  Y.  Col.  l>ofS.  IV, 
Mi;j)  of  CanghnawaKa,  pi-olialily  lu  civilizod  atllro.     Slield^n's  D.^erliold  1.  2iM. 

14.  roiihallon's  Indian  wars,  24;  Hoyl'.s  Antiiimirlan  n.siarclios.  186;  nwiglifs 
Travels  II,  tJ7:  I'arkiiians  Ilalf-eiMitury  of  cinUict,  I.  02:  Slio;d.!n's  D 'erlU-ld,  I.  Ui. 
An  alniivst  conloniporary  ac.ount  is  nientlcmcd  UeifLsn  r  IX,  liil.  .\  woodcut  of  .lean 
l.apiiste  Ilertel,  Sel^rnenr  do  Kouvillo  can  lie  m.mmi  in  Wiis  r's  Xarrat've  and  cilfcal 
iiisiory   \,    km;,      Ue  was  thirly-foiu'  years  of  aue  at   tlie  tine  of  the  raid. 

ITi.     llir  .  hilii  .Iern-=ha   was  horn  .lannary   lo.    1704.      ltei;|st(T   XI.IV,  .'il.'i. 


196 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


the  scattered  savages.  Her  Indian  attendant.  perceivinK  tliat  she  would 
prove  unprofitable  for  sale  or  cxcliangc.  tomahawked  her  as  she  was 
stagg.rinn  up  a  hill  just  after  crossing  the  stream.  Her  body,  found 
by  pursmng  whites,  was  reverently  returned  and  now  sleeps  ni  God  s 
acre  in  Deertield.  and  a  monument  to  h-r  memory,  dedicated  August 
i_».  1886.  adorns  the  slope  where  she  fell.'" 

After  manv  privations,  terrible  to  suffer,  thrilling  even  to  read, 
ihe  remainder  "of  the  Williams  family,  although  in  separated  bands, 
reached  their  dififerent  destinations.  All  of  them  except  one  eventu- 
ally returned  to  their  Deertield  home.  The  father  was  exchanged, 
reached  Bo.ston  by  water  November  21.  i7o<),  was  recalled  to  his  pas 
toratc  in  Deerfield  and  died  there  June  u.  17^).'"  His  Tlic  Rcdcciiicl 
Cafli-r  Rcliiniiiig  to  /.ion,  relates  in  <|uaint  language  the  story  ol 
the  Indian  attack,  of  the  inclement  march,  of  the  life  in  Canada. '« 

One  of  the  Williams  family,  it  is  repeated,  did  not  return  to  the 
Decrfield  home.  This  one.  Eunice,  her  mother's  namesake,  the  de- 
scendant of  two  deacons  and  three  ministers  of  Puritan  New  Rnghunl. 
the  far  away  child  of  many  paternal  supplications  and  bitter  tears.'" 
frail  solitary  maiden  among  many  stalwart  Indian  braves,  claims  now 
our  sole  attention. 

Upon  the  divison  of  the  captives   Kunice  fell  to  a  chieftain  of  the 
settlement   which    the    French    called    Sault    St.    Louis    but    which    in 
sonorous  Trociuois  is  Caughnawaga.-"     This  village,  the  namesake  of 
a  Mohawk  liandet  west  from  Albany,  was  situated  four  leagues  above 
Montreal  on  the  south  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence.     As  early  as  1636  the 
spot  was  considered   sigtuly   for  habitation   but   il   was   not   uuiii    iO(j; 
that  the  first  Irocpiois  went  there.     These  Iro(iuois.  largely  Mohawks 
with   a    few    ( )neida>.    had    b^en    converted   by   Jesuit    missionaries    to 
Catholicism  and  to  the  French  interest  and  had  been  induced  from  time 
to  time  to  abandon  their  ancient  seats  in  New   York  for  homes  near 
Alontreal  where  they  would  be  under  the  wing  of  the  Church.     Thus 
dwelling  they  served  both   as  a  bulwark   against  the    I-mglish   and  as 
allies  of  the   French   in   war  and  in   marauding,   while   they   enriched 
themselves  by  lucrative  contraband  trade  between  the  lower  Hudson 
and  the  St.  Lawrence.     At  about  the  period  of  the  Decrfield  massacre 
two-thirds  of  the  New  York  Mohawks  had  been  persuaded  to  deport 
themselves   to   Caughnawaga,   so  that  al)out    three   hundred  and    fifty 
l)raying  Indians  were  then  living  there.     In   1750  the  entire  population 
may  have  l)een  one  thousand  souls.     But  notwithstanding  the  religion- 


t(>.     SlioliloM'K    Doi'iliclil    II,    .177. 

17.    Shelilon's   DocrllrUI    I.    .'aS;    WilllnmH'    Wlil'nms   faiiill.v,    OH. 
LS.    l'\)r  the  cdltidiis  <if  this  Iltllf  liook  sro   Willliiiiis'   IliMlccnii'"!  c:i|itive  (Noitli- 

aiiiptoli,  IS-'iS)   imge  Hi:   Alllliimc's   Itictiniiar.v    III.   L'741:    .slid.loirs   Deo  HeM   II.   ^77. 
10.    Wllli.anis'   Hi'decimil   ciiiillvc.    17ii.    171;    Will'miis'    Willl;iiiw   fninH.v,   !>.'{. 
20.    IVikcr's   Eunice   Wlllliiiim,    23. 


HIS  FUREKUNXERS,  HIMSELF. 


137 


intluences  these  mission  Indians  still  continued  savages.  AUIioukIi 
baptized  and  wearing  the  crucifix  they  yet  hung  their  wigwams  with 
scalps,  yet  wielded  their  tomahawks  against  feeble  women  and  innocent 
fliihlrcn. 

Remnants  of  the  Caughnawaga  mission  still  exist  and  travelers 
down  the  St.  Lawrence  |)cer  curiously  at  ungarbed  pappooses  sporting 
about  the  shore  and  at  tawny  braves  stalking  aimlessly  under  the 
arching  trees.-* 

Juuiice  Williams,  born  September  17,  1696,--  was  between  seven 
;ind  cigiit  years  of  age  when  her  captivity  !)egan.  Once  or  twice 
during  her  father's  stay  in  Canada  he  was  permitted  to  visit  and  con- 
sole his  daughter.  At  these  occasions  he  conjured  her  to  tho  remem- 
brance of  her  prayers  and  of  her  catechism  and  warned  her  against  the 
desertion  of  her  faith.  Strenuous  yet  futile  efforts  were  made  to  secure 
her  return  with  him  to  New  England;  persistent  yet  vain  endeavors 
for  her  release  were  afterwards  pressed  by  Colonel  John  Schuyler 
of  Albany  and  Deacon  John  Sheldon  of  Deorfield.  Gradually  her 
susceptible  child-nature  yielded  to  her  environment  and  to  the  gentle 
demeanor  of  her  captors.  She  became  an  Indian  in  dress  and  man- 
ners, a  Catholic  in  religion.  Her  conversion  was  consummated  by 
her  re-baptism  with  the  name  of  Margaret.  She  forgot  her  English 
and  her  catechism.  Her  lapse  from  the  ancestral  creed  was  to  her 
father  the  keenest  torture.-^ 

After  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  in  1713  brought  brief  peace  to  America 
alike  with  Europe,  the  father  of  Eunice  and  Colonel  John  Stoddard 
were  appointed  by  the  government  of  Massachusetts  Bay  to  negotiate 
the  redemption  of  New  Englanders  v.ho  were  in  captivity  in  Canada. 
The  commissioners  left  Boston  November  5,  171J,  and  spent  more 
than  a  year  in  parleyings  which  were  characterized  by  earnestness  and 
skill  on  their  side  and  by  extreme  disingenuousness  on  the  part  of  the 
l-'rench  authorities.  The  commissioners  finally  sailed  homeward  with 
twenty-six  redeemed  captives.  Eunice  however  was  not  of  the  num- 
ber although  iier  fatlier  saw  her  and  had  discourse  with  her  "and  her 
Indian  relations."  How  tantalizing  such  an  interview  must  have  been 
to  tile  now  impatient  and  angered   father  the  dry  tone   of  Stoddard's 


21.  .ViitliorUles  coiiccniluK  Ciiufjliuuwima:  .\.  Y.  Col.  Docs.  IV,  87,  747;  V.  742; 
VI,  M-^.  (i-Ji»;  X.  ;tUl;  Uflutiiiii  (li>8  .If'siiUeH.  UVM.  42;  l.ettrcs  dlHiintc^  I't  fUrlciiMis 
1.  (Mt'i;  J'iii-kimiir.s  Hnlf-tentiiry  of  confllot  I..  II.  12;  Paikiiiiin's  Tlic  old  ivsliiie  In 
<'iiimilii,  .'!C8:  I'lirUman's  Moiitoiilm  mid  Wolff,  I.  (W;  II,  144;  li'tlor,  Ma.v  l."i.  1890, 
from  tlic  Ucv.  .\rlhni-  K.  .loiics.  .S.  ,1,,  of  St.  Miu-y's  Collir*'.  Mmilinil;  IliixUrV  New 
I';iMioi' In  .New  l',nj;luud,  .''.27;  .Stone's  Sir  ■\Villiiinv  .Iolin8i;n  I,  .'lO.  faiiKlinawiiR;i  mcnns, 
Cook   the  kettle.     Doiniinontary  lilstory  of  Now  York   III.    llO.s. 

22.  Sholdon's  DcorliPld  II,  377:  linker's  KniilCf  Williams,  20.  WllUnin.-i'  Itobert 
Willlains,    l.'i,    iiririls   .Sf|itcinber   10,   lOHO. 

23.  linker's  Kiinlcc  Wlllliinis,  23,  24;  Williiini.-;'  Krdicuicd  C.Tpilvo.  ."0;  Piuk- 
niiin'H    Ilalf-iTiituiy  of  ciiiillicl,    I..    77. 


138 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


TournaP-'  leaves  to   inference  and  imagination.     Mr.   WilHams  never 
saw  his  clauglitcr  again. 

The  date  of  her  marriage  is  unknown.  From  the  reference  u. 
Stoddard-s  Journal  to  her  "Indian  refetions/'^^^  from  the  earnest  pro- 
test of  her  father  to  the  governor  of  Canada  against  marriages  be- 
tween Indians  and  minor  white  girls=»  and  especially  from  a  memorial 
of  Colonel  John  Schuyler  to  the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  it  appears 
tliat  Eunice  was  already  a  wife  when  the  commissiouers  arrived  in 
Cmada  The  last  mentioned  document  shows-^  that  the  marriage  oc- 
cm-rcd  before  ^lay  25,  1713-bcfore  she  was  seventeen  years  of  age. 
Her  husband  was  Amrusus,  a  nome  roughly  civdizcd  into  Roger 
Toroso.  a  full-b'ood  Caughnawaga  Indian.^* 

Of  her  life  amonfe.  \e.  adopted  people  there  are  but  tew  glimpses. 
She  never  forgot  her  ancestral  home;    she  ne^-er  entirely  lost  the  Isew 
Englanri   spirit.     Kev   husband  assumed  the   rirname   Wilhams;   her 
only  so.,  was  called  from  her  father.  John.^«     In  1740,  by  the  solicita- 
tion of  Colonel  John  Schuylcr.^'o  ,vho  hoped  to  accomplish  her  volun- 
tary return  to  civilizatio-.  she  and  her  husband  visited  Albany^    Here 
by  prior  arrangement  were  present  her  brothers  Eleazer  and  Stephen 
and  the  Rev.  Joseph  ^Icacham.  her  brother-in-law.     \  lelding  to  their 
entreaties  the  visit  was  extended  to  Long  Meadow,  where  her  brother 
Stephen  was  minister.''^     Finding  that  no   force   was   used  to  detain 
lucn^    Eunice  and  iior   husband   returned  in    1741   with   two  children 
t-iri-vno-  at  Mansi^clJ.-''^  Boston  and  other  towns  and  remaining  several 
months!    Public  interest  in  these  visitors  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  the 
legislative  assembly  of  the  province  offered  the  family  a  tract  of  land 
,n    Massachusetts   for  th.ir  settlcmcnt-a  gift   which    Eunice  re  use. 
fearing  its  acceptance  would  endanger  her  soul.''"'    In  174.^  a  third  v-sit 

21  St.Hh'.r.l-s  .Tonrn.il  Is  prlnU-l  nt  Um.tl,  In  R.^lHl.--  V.  ?r„  Miss  liakefe 
Eunice  "wiUIams    Is   an    Int-rosUng   aooonnt   of    U,,.    elTor.s    nuv.lo    for    the    r,  1,  nsa   of 

Euutce. 

'2o.    UogisU'i'  V,  33 

:";     Unlior's   Knnlio    Williiuns,   33. 

2V     Baker  s  Eunice  Williams,  i;s.  29. 

.,      .       T,        ,1111      'in-     I^tfrr       Vmli     0.     \^W-.     Iii'in     lvlw"''il    H-     ^>'"' 

Ilniiis,    jr. 

...J     ;.a.U,nan',>  llalf-contm-y  of  oonfllct   I.   ST.   I'.aU.rV   Kunl.o  WMIluns,   37. 

ao  Colonel  Soln..vler  «a8  born  .Mnll  ,\  UMS,  an-i  «as  gr.„.  Ifalhor  of  r.'n  vA 
riiUil.  Schuyler.     .N.   Y.   Col.   Docs,   IV.  40r.;   I.nmh's   -Vew  Y.rU   t,    l..;i. 

;„.  nut  «1H>  wouM  ncl  l.Ml.-'c  in  tl,c  Imuse;  u  uij;wau.  xva.' ,ons,ru,„.,l  in  ll.e  ..r- 
cliiird  and  Hlie  slei.t  tliere.     Umj-'uieiidow   (•.•nlcnnlat,   74. 

;i2  An  extract  from  a  .s.  nn<,n  prea.h.d  In  tl.e  i.resouc,.  of  Ki.nice  WPli.um.  .t 
Mnnsneid,  Connectlout.  .\n,nst  1.  1741,  by  l.er  reu.o.e  nlallve,  tl.e  Rev  ,So  o.ion 
Wllllnms  of  t^banon.  Connecticut,  is  .ucscrvcd  In  Wllllau.s'  lied,  ou-cd  Cnp.lv.,    !.(i. 

m  StnteuH-nt  of  .Teruslin  M.  cl.ou.  a  .Ics.cndant  <  •;  the  It.v.  .To',:,  Will!  nns. 
dated   May   2(3,    IH.'!.!,    printed   in  Willl.nn-'    Hed.-ou.cd   rupllvc.    171. 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


139 


was  made.-'"  On  all  these  occasions  her  New  England  cousins  unavail- 
ingly  endeavored  to  persuade  the  renunciation  at  least  of  her  Indian 
dress  and  customs. 

In  1758,  fifty-lour  years  after  her  forcible  abduction  from  Deerfield 
she  visited  this  home  of  her  infancy.  By  her  civilized  kindred  she 
was  rehabilitated  in  English  garb  to  attend  the  Sunday  preaching  in 
her  father's  church.  But  neither  the  sacred  associations  of  the  occasion 
nor  the  memories  of  the  past,  nor  the  tearful  entreaties  of  her  friends, 
could  restrain  her  from  resuming  her  Indian  blanket  after  the  service 
had  closed.-'.''  Yet  she  never  became  a  savage  in  her  disposition.  Her 
influence  at  Caughnawaga  was  always  exercised  upon  the  side  01 
clemency  towards  captured  foes  and  against  barbarous  warfare.  The 
li;imane  inclinations  with  which  she  inspired  her  martial  grandson 
Thomas  Williams  amazed  his  white  allies. =""'  A  letter  written  or  dic- 
tated by  her  to  her  brother  Stephen  in  December,  1781,  when  she  was 
more  than  eighty-five  years  of  age,  shows,  if  faithfully  rendered  into 
English,  a  resumption,  perhaps  a  continuance,  of  the  methods  of 
expression  and  drift  of  tiiought  whicli  must  have  been  familiar  to  her 
earliest  childhood:''' 

y.i,-  beloved  lirotlinr,  oiu'p  in  cii|itivil.v  with  jnc,  nml  [  nm  Kllll  so  as  you  may 
lonsiiler  It,  but  I  aiiv  frco  in  tbo  Ix)i'(l.  Wo  .nro  now  bolli  vciy  oM  and  are  still  per- 
iiitlted  by  the  Koo<ln('Ss  of  Ood  to  live  in  th.>  land  of  liii-  llvinu.  This  may  b.'  the  last 
tlii.o  yoM  may  hoar  from  me.  Oh  pray  for  me  that  I  may  bo  propared  I'oi-  doatli  and 
I  trust  we  may  moot  in  Heaven  with  all  (Uir  godly  relallvos. 

The  writing  of  this  letter  is  the  l.itest  event  yet  discovered  in  the 
life  of  Eunice.     Five  years  after,  in  1786,  she  died  at  Caughnawaga.'"* 

Of  her  marriage  with  tiie  Indian  Annusus  were  born  one  sion  and 
two  daughters,  who.iC  dates  of  birth  are  unknown.  The  son  John 
tiled  childless  at  Lake  George  in  1758;  the  daughter  Catherine  al- 
though married  was  likewise  without  ofYspriiig;  the  remaining  daugh- 
ter, c.'dkd  sometimes  Mary  but  more  often  and  perl;aps  more  correctly 
Sarah  is  therefore  tlu-  only  child  nf  Eunice  by  whom  her  Itlood  has 
been  pernetuated.'"'  That  this  statement  as  to  the  posterity  of  ICunicc 
is  true  is  known  from  her  own  lii)s.     The  Rev.  James  Dean,  who  was 

.'M.  A  lotliT  iniiw  oniiiil  by  Iviu-ai'd  i;.  .Syrcs  of  fldoaKo)  was  wri'ton  lo  the 
Itov.  .Stoplicn  Williams  of  IxpUKmondow,  brolhor  of  Kniilco,  on  Oc'obor  '24.  17i;!,  by 
the  Hov.  .Tolm  Scrpennt  of  SlooUlu-bU-o,  roTi^iratnlallns  Mr.  Willianis  ">  n  this  third 
visit  froiu  .vonr  poor  oaptlvo  sister,"  and  o\pi'p>.slm;  tin-  hopo  that  "sho  will  now  Iv 
persuaded  t(.  slay  wllli  yon."  Tho  wrilir,  born  in  .Vcwarl;,  Now  .Torsoy,  ITlii.  Vab- 
172!l,  boonmo  a  nussionnry  to  the  ,S|o,;l;brld),'i'  Indians,  17.'!1.  IleBislor  X,  1S.1.  IJ.Ii. 
.Mr.  SiTKoant  married  ..MiIb.mII,  sister  of  Oidonol  K|ihialm  Williams,  fonmlor  ..r  Will- 
iauiH  I 'oiU'KP.     Serinnor'H   Monlldy,   Fobiiiary.    ISll.'i.   2IT. 

.'I,-.    Williams'    Waiianis   family,    !)J!)t. 

;li;.    Willinni"'  To-lio-ra-jjWH-nojren,  21. 

.'17.    Williams'   To-Iio-nitrwa-iioKon.    II. 

.'iS.     Ixdlor,    April    (1.    IWIti.    from    i'jlvvard    11.    Williams,    ji'. 

.•H>.     Wliliatns'   WIllbiniM  family,   !)l     Williams'  'rolio-ra  gwa  ni' m  n,    17,   is. 


m 


140 


ELEAZKR  WILLIAMS. 


mission  to  tlie  Indians  of  CaughnnwaMia  an 


I 


un  a 

and  1774  and  became 

ings,   thus   wrote   to 


d  St.   Francis  in  177,? 


well  acfiuamted  with  Eunice  and  her  surround- 
her  brotlicr    Stephen    under   date   of    November 


1774:*" 
Slio  lias  tAVo  iluughtors  and  uiie  griimlsiii  « 


\v.('.\  lire 


all  the  Uisanartiils  h  e  liiis. 


Botli  iK'i-  (liiiifilitors  are  uiiiir 


•icil  lint  <inf  <if   IlK'iii 


has   no  oliililren.     Ymir  is'sti  r   llvi  s 
I'niav'il  11  L'o  (1  slate  o.'  Ufaitli 


rin),'  her  lulvuiieed  iige  enjuy'd  a  go  d  slal 
wl'ie'u  I  left  the  country.  She  retains  still  an  affectionate  lemeinbianc  •  of  hei-  frond-  in 
X.  Knglanil  but  tells  me  that  she  never  exiieeUs  t,.  s  e  th  mm  again,  tie  I'ulUues  or  so 
long  a  jciiiiney  would  be  too  much  for  her  to  nud.'rgo. 

This    letter   makes    110    relerenee    to    .\mrusus— 1    assume    that    he 

was  dead. 

Much  obscurity  gathers  about  Sarah,  the  daughter  of  Eunice. 
That  she  was  living  in  I774  the  above  extract  renders  certain.  The 
name  of  her  husband,  the  latlier  of  her  children,  has  eluded  much 
vigilance,  and  in  the  search  for  him  the  shadow  of  the  Rev.  Eleazer 
Williams  of  Green  Bay  glances  for  the  first  time  across  this  paper  s 
path.  In  1846  that  gentleman  had  personal  interviews  with  Stephen 
W.  Williams.  M.  D.,  then  cfimpiling  the  genealogy  of  the  Willianis 
family,  and  threw  this  light,  if  light  it  be.  upon  the  identity  of  Sarah's 
husband:" 

In  the  French  war  of  i755-(«.  an  English  Heet  sent  out  against 
the  French  was  separated  in  a  tremendous  storm  near  the  coast  of 
Nova  Scotia.  Doctor  Williams,  an  English  physician,  was  on  one  of 
the  vessels  which  was  afterwards  taken  ))y  a  French  man-of-war.  As 
Doctor  Williams  was  a  man  of  science  and  a  distinguished  physician, 
he  was  treated  with  a  great  deal  of  attention  by  the  French  physicians 
in  Canada.  He  was  a  botanist  and  was  suffered  to  ramble  in  various 
parts  of  Canada  and  was  carried  by  the  Indians  in  their  canoes  to 
several  of  their  towns.  .\t  Caughnawaga  he  became  acquainted  with 
Sarah,  the  daughter  of  Eunice,  and  in  i7.=;8  marrieil  her  on  condition 
that  he  would  not  move  from  Canada.  The  physician  proved  to  be  the 
son  of  the  1)ishop  of  Chester. 

Tile  genealogist  who  preserves  this  story  was  in  his  lifetime 
worthy  of  credit.  His  gcneaU>gy  is  not  a  model  of  execution.  Is  un- 
indexed  and  in  many  ways  faulty,  but  tlie  author  wa>  of  higli  character 

40.  Tills  letter  Is  owned  by  Kdward  K.  .\yivs  of  ihleagu,  and  was  Iransorlbed 
for  me  (as  well  as  the  .Sergeant  1  i(er)  by  the  courtesy  of  Cliailes  \.  Smith  of  Chi- 
cago. Mr.  lieaii  graduated  from  Dartmouth  in  177."t.  lie'  passed  his  early  life  am  ng 
the  Indians  and  bi  .anie  lamlllar  with  their  language.  After  the  Uevolntbmary  war. 
he  was  sialloii.d  at  Fort  Stanwlx,  now  Uoiiie,  New  YoiU.  as  Int.-rp-et.'r.  He  died 
at  Wcslnioielaml,  .New  Yorli,  in  ISi'.'a.  aged  -.'i  years.  Kartniouih  (Vnteiiidal.  'Jl ; 
lliiiiimond's  Madison   t'ouiity,   110. 

■H.    Williams'    Williams   faiiill.v,    '.'1. 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


141 


and  of  unimpeaclied  integrity  and  has  been  praised  for  his  patient, 
painstaking  and  disinterested  service  to  his  family.*^ 

It  is  supposed  therefore  that  he  printed  the  English  physician  story 
precisely  as  he  received  it  from  Eleazer.  But  I  may  be  asked,  Why 
tarry  upon  so  unimportant  a  detail  as  the  name  of  the  half-breed 
Sarah's  husband?  The  answer  is  at  hand:  The  consideration  of  this 
trifle  may  throw  light  upon  the  character  of  Eleazer  Williams,  and  the 
character  of  Eleazer  Williams  is  a  great  part  of  my  subject.''^  If  in  this 
particular  Eleazer  may  be  disclosed  a  fabricator — not  to  use  a  Saxon 
dissyllable  of  similar  import — then  the  maxim  may  pertinently  be  in- 
voked, I'alsus  in  into,  falsus  in  omnibus.  If  Eleazer  Williams  has  de- 
ceived, deliberately  deceived,  the  world  /is  to  the  name  and  identity 
of  his  grandfather  he  may  well  be  assumed  to  have  wrought  like  deceit 
as  to  the  name  and  identity  of  his  father. 

Diagnosis  of  the  English  physician  tale  leads  to  the  following, 
among  other,  observations: 

I.  The  story  itself  is  highly  improbable:  a  cultivated  English 
gentleman,  a  physician,  a  bishop's  son,  would  hardly  ally  himself  for 
life  to  a  half-breed  Caughnnwaga  girl  and  stipulate  as  the  price  of  the 
alliance,  that  he  would  iiot  leave  Canada. 

II.  History  discloses  no  scattering  and  wrecking  of  an  English 
rieot  just  prerious  to  1758,  and  the  subsequent  capture  of  a  single  vessel 
by  a  French  man-of-war.  The  authentic  event  most  similar  to  the  one 
ilescribed  by  Eleazer — the  destruction  caused  by  the  storm  off  Louis- 
bourg  in  1737^^ — is  wanting  in  the  particulars  which  his  story  con- 
tains. 

III.  In  the  tall  of  1852  this  same  Eleazer  Williams  wrote  an  eulo- 
gistic biography  of  Thomas  Williams.  The  pen  being  now  in  his  own 
hand  he  must  needs  make  wary  statements.  In  announcing  the  parent- 
age of  Thomas  (who  was  the  son  of  Sarah)  an  account  is  given  of 
Thomas'  mother,-*"  but  not  a  single  syllable  is  devoted  to  his  father — 
he  is  not  even  hinted  at.  Does  not  the  argunicntttni  ab  silentio 
apply  with  strong  force  in  such  a  case?  Would  Eleazer  Williams, 
himself  then  nn  Episcopalian,  neglect  so  grand  an  opportunity  to 
glorify  his  family  by  attaching  it  to  that  of  an  English  prelate,  if  truth 
permitted,  if  fear  of  discovery  did  not  prevent?  Why  did  he  not  in 
185:2  endorse  by  repetition  the  oral  statements  of  1846? 

I\'.    Ill    the   biography   of   Thomas    Williams   just   described,    it    is 


42.  ]ti'«lslcr  \l.\\,  IM;  I.V.  .'ITt!;  II  lit!,  lir  K.  W.  Wllliniiis  .lleil  aned  sUty- 
tlvo   yi'Uis.   .Inly    0,    1.sri."i. 

43.  The  Ui'v.  Kriiiiil.><  L.  Hawks,  |i.  I),,  In  lils  imiiHlucloiy  ii.ite  to  IlaiiBim's 
//.ire  UV  ,')  lloiirliiin  Aiiiuiik  Is.  In  riilninii's  .Munililv  .\lii.:i\/.lrii'  I.  i:i4.  iPiuurkN 
Unit    Kli'uzcc'8   "cliaiactci'   I'oi-  veiaoily   lncumt's  iiii   all   iniiiditaiit  (iiieBllon." 

44      rarliiiiari's    Monlcalm   and   Wolle   I.   47'J. 
l."i      Williams'   'I'l  •lio-ragwa-iic-j.'iii,    17,    l.s. 


142 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


written  that  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years  or  thereabouts  Thomas 
used  an  interpreter  in  conversation  with  his  New  England  kin.'"  Cer- 
tainly no  need  for  such  service  could  have  existed  if  he  had  been  the 
son  of  an  English  father,  not  to  suppose  if  he  had  been  the  son  of  a 
distinguished  physician,  a  botanist,  a  man  of  science,  of  England. 

V.  Elcazer  Williams,  du'-ing  his  lifetime,  made  so  many  variations 
upon  the  identity  of  this  husband  of  Sarah  and  father  of  Thomas  as  to 
demonstrate  his  versatility  at  the  expense  of  his  veracity.  To  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Hanson,  author  of  The  Lost  Prince,  it  was  stated,  or  more  accu- 
rately, by  him  it  was  recorded.'"  simply  that  the  young  Indian  girl 
married  an  English  physician  named  Williams.  When  the  1853  edition 
of  The  Redeemed  Captive  ajipeared,  the  diocese  of  the  bishop,  whose  son 
had  exiled  himself  for  a  Cauglinawaga  bride,  was  changed  and  had 
become  Chichester.-i«  When,  about  1845,  Eleazer  filed  his  pedigree 
with  the  New  England  Historic-Genealogical  Society  he  recorded  the 
husband  of  Sarah  as  Ezckiel  Williams  an  English  physician.^"  To 
the  prince  de  Joinville  in  1841  Eleazer  related  that  on  his  father's  side 
he.  Eleazer,  was  of  French  origin ;"'0  while  the  present  genealogist  of 
the  Williams  family  has  several  lines  of  Eleazer's  descent  all  purport- 
ing to  emanate  from  him  and  all  ditYerent.''i 

VL  There  never  was  a  bishop  of  Chester  of  the  name  of  Wil- 
liams. The  nearest  designation  to  Williams  in  the  Chesterian  hier- 
archy was  that  of  John  Wilkins,  brotlu  r-in-law  of  Oliver  Cromwell. 
who  was  consecrated  in  1668,  ninety  years  before  the  alleged  marriage 
of  Sarah,  and  who  died  November  19.  1672.^*2  There  was  a  bishop 
of  Chichester  named  John  Williams,  but  be  was  born  in  1634,"'''  and 
it  has  not  yet  been  discovered  even  in  the  Registry  01  the  diocese  that 
he  ever  married.''' 

VH.  There  has  not  yet  been  traced  in  Canada  in  the  last  century 
any  English  physician  named  ]'".zekiel  Williams  or  any  such  physi- 
cian of  that  sirname  who  even  remotely  would  answer  Eleazer's  de- 
40.  W  illlams'  Te-ho-ra-f-'Wi'-nc-ixon,  .30.  Wlion  TlinninR  Willlnms  was  nt  Ix)ne- 
meailow  clinicU  in  I81W  lio  "conld  iiol;  muloistniKi  11  wimi  of  tlic  siTvices."  CMllcm's 
Tom-  I,   100. 

47.  Hanson's  'nie  Ijost   Princo,   1S2. 

48.  Willlnms'    Redoenutl   Ciipllvp.   170. 

49.  Hnntoon's  Elonxor  AVilllnius,  iiSO.  lUeazm-  liccanic.  a  cori-espondin;:  iiKjiiihrr 
of  tho  New  KiiKland  Illstorio-CioiiOiilnaiciil  S...  idy  Atisi'isl  C.  1845,  See  HciU'^  <>1  M'Mii- 
bers,   1S44-1SIKI,   pajio  90. 

no.    Hanson's  Tlio  liost  rrinoc  404. 

.'il.     LiHtcr,    April   C,    ISiKi,    ficni   Kilwonl    11.    Wiiliiuiis.   y.-. 

52.  Neal'B  PiirUans  H,  li".";   NuWlc's  i'r.itr'.iuv.il   lions.'  .)V  riMiinv.41    11.   :ili;. 

53.  AUIbonc's  Dictionary   III,  11741. 

54.  lA'tti-r,  Marrli  21,  ISOC,  irom  F.  S.  M.  Bonnetl,  private  s.rn>tnry  to  tlio 
present  blsliop  of  Clirslor;  IcMtor  May  18,  189U.  from  Sir  Kobert  liapor,  prlvat.'  sec- 
rotary  and   renislrar  to  tlio  liiKlio[>  of  ClilcliostiT.     I   am   Indelitod   to   tli>'SO   riplit  rov- 

ercnd   noiitloni iii.l    to    \\\>\v  .mirloons   assistants   for  prompt   and    full   rrplirs  ta   my 

questions. 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


143 


CMli.in's 


.'11 1;. 


scriplion  ni  Sarah's  husband.  Before  venturing  this  assertion  care- 
ful search  lias  been  made  of  Dr.  Munk's  RoU  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Pliysicia)is  from  i^iS  to  iSoo/'^  Dr.  Canniff's  The  Medical  Profession 
in  Upper  Canada,  17S3  to  1850^'^  and  Tanguay's  Dictionnaire  gcncalog- 

I  conclude  therefore  that  Elcazer  Williams  unconscionably  mis- 
stated the  facts  as  to  the  identity  of  his  paternal  grandfather;  that  l.e 
(lid  not  know,  or  did  not  care  to  disclose,  the  true  name  and  national- 
ity of  that  ancestor  and  that  his  persistent  reference  to  a  personage 
called  Williams  as  that  ancestor  was  due  to  his  desire  to  trace  his  own 
possession  of  that  sirname  to  the  usual  method  of  acquiring  such  des- 
ignations and  not  to  that  of  adoption.  The  fact  is  that  the  husband  of 
Sarah  was  an  Indian  of  unknown,  mayhap  of  unpossessed,  name,  and 
that,  just  as  Amrusus  called  himself  Williams  from  reverence  for  his 
ivife's  New  England  ancestry,  so  the  aboriginal  husband  of  Sarah 
assumed  the  same  sirname  for  a  similar  reason.'^ 

Of  her  marriage  was  a  son  Thomas,  or  Te-ho-ra-gwa-ne-gen  who 
was  apparently  her  only  child. •''"  Eieazer  in  his  life  of  Thomas,  in- 
forms us  that  Sarah  died  when  her  son  Thomas  was  fifteen  months  old, 
that  is  to  say,  about  1760.""  But  if  the  Rev.  James  Dean,  in  1774,  can 
be  believed  to  have  accurately  employed  the  present  tense  in  his  be- 
fore quoted  letter  to  the  Rev.  Stephen  Williams,  Sarah  was  living 
not  fewer  than  fourteen  years  after  her  grandson  writes  she  was  dead. 
From  the  usual  longevity  of  the  Williams  familj'  and  from  Eleazer's 
notorious  innocence  of  accuracy  I  fear  that  Mr.  Dean  was  a  inur 
grammarian  than  Eleazcr  was  a  reliable  historian. 

Thomas — for  his  liyphenated  Iroquois  name  is  too  cumbersome — 
was  born  about  1758  or  175^."'  He  was  a  sprigiuly  active  lad,  and  wa> 
skilled  in  the  chase.  He  was  of  tlie  age  of  eighteen  years  when  tiie  war 
i->f  the  Revolution  began.  With  the  remainder  of  his  band  he  espoused 
the  cause  of  England  and  was  made  a  war  chief  in  1777.  He  was  pres- 
ent more  or  less  actively  at  Bennington  and  at  Saratoga  but  he  ap- 

Ii5.    lu   two  iH'tnvos,   IjoiiRin.'in's  ISOl. 

B6.  ContniiiiriK  slidit  l)iogi'a|)liic:il  nii'miili-s  of  .•si'voriil  liundri'd  iieisoiis,  Alt^joii;;!! 
17S.'(  viis  latin'  llitiii  llio  l:iiio  of  S:iiiiir.-4  iiKirrliiKO.  iii'f  claiincd  I'.ngllsli  inodlc.il  liiis- 
linnd  slunilil  luive  boiii  In  this  volume  had  ho  spi'iit  lis  life  In  C.inndii  ;iiil  live  I  to 
a  icnson.'iMc  age. 

r>7.     Sovon  Imco  voltinies. 

,"i.S.  l,ili,.i-,  .\iiril  1;.  ISilO,  fnini  F.dw.ud  11.  Wllllinii<.  .jr..  of  Bi'lhiMii'm.  I  iiiii 
sylvntila,  who  lor  t wi'iily-idtflit  yonrs  hns  sought  I'lMiii  oriijiii.il  sources,  tho  hislt-ry  of 
tho  dospcndnnts  of  Uohoi-t  Wllllnms.  That  tlin  ImHaii  postoi-lty  of  Eiuilco  Williams 
Bssnmed  lior  slrnniiio  appears  from  tho  prefaee  to  I'l'^seiidi'ii'M  Sprnidn.  That  It  is 
not  uneoinmou  for  iui\o(l-lilood  liullans  lo  lako  il:.  tani'  o!  t!;oir  while  auistus 
appears  from  Colton's  Tour  I,   IDS;  llnvldson's  In   tJmuiiuril    Wise  nslii,   0,'. 

m.    Wllllnms'    Willi.uns   family.  •.)4;    Ilcaii's   L  Iter,  ■/."■. ;/. 

(K).    Williams'   To-ho -ra-Bwa-iio-Keii,    17. 

01.     Uoslon  Dally   ,l(iiini,il,    Oeloher    17.    lS4s. 


Ir 


144 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


pears  not  to  have  been  entirely  harmonious  with  the  British  otiicers, 
perhaps  because  he  lacked  the  usual  Indian  ferocity.  His  biography 
ascribes  his  undoubted  clemency,  his  magnanimity  in  battle  and  to 
captured  foes,  to  the  influence  of  his  grandmother  Eunice.  While  none 
disputed  his  bravery,  his  generosity  excited  the  surprise  of  his  fellow 
warriors.  Sir  John  Johnson  heav.ily  disliked  him — a  hostile  feeling 
which  Thomas  warmly  reciprocated  and  which  had  its  influence  in 
changing  his  allegiance  when  the  war  of  1812  was  brewing."- 

After  the  peace  of  1783  Thomas  resumed  the  chase,  carrying  his 
vocation  as  far  as  Lake  George — his  frequent  and  favorite  hunting- 
ground''-' — and  often  visiting  Albany  to  barter  his  furs.  At  the  Dutch 
capital  he  became  the  friend  of  General  Philip  Schuyler  who  had  been 
a  pupil  in  the  household  of  the  Rev.  Stephen  Williams  of  Longmead- 
ow'"  and  who  was  the  grandson  of  Colonel  John  Schuyler,  the  strenu- 
-lus  advocate  for  the  release  of  Eunice  Williams.  With  letters  from 
General  Schuyler  he  made  his  first  visit,  in  1783,  to  his  New  England 
kin  and  formed  those  friendships  which  led  to  important  conseciuences 
in  the  lives  of  two  of  his  sons.  At  Stockbridge  the  interpreter  between 
Thomas  and  his  English-speaking  cousins  was  the  Rev,  Samuel 
Kirkland,  missionary  to  the  Oneida  Indians,""  the  tribe  to  which 
afterwards  the  son  of  Thomas  was  to  minister  in  the  same  capacity.  At 
Longnieadow  he  found  to  his  sorrow  that  his  great-uncle  Stephen,  to 
whom  Eunice  had  recently  written  so  pathetically,  was  dead.'"'  Thomas 
never  forgot  his  New  England  connections.  His  friendship  with  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Williams,  LL.  D..  of  Rutland,  Vermont,  was  very  intimate 
and  was  full  of  satisfaction  and  helpfulness  to  both."^ 

When  the  great  misunderstanding  arose  between  England  and  the 
United  States  in  1808  President  Jefferson  addressed  a  letter  to  the  bor- 
(ler  Indians.  In  this  he  stated  that  the  impending  war  was  no  quarrel 
i<\  theirs  and  urged  them  to  remain  quiet  and  neutral.  Moreover  he 
I)romised  them  that  should  the  British  claim  their  services  and  they 
.chose  instead  to  break  up  their  settlements  and  cross  into  the  United 
States,  he  would  find  other  settlements  for  them  and  make  them  chil- 
dren of  the  young  Republic, "^  In  addition,  when  the  war  actually 
broke  out,  the  President  sent  a  personal  invitation  to  Thomas  Will- 

('.2.    WiUiams'  Te-Iio-ru-gw.-i-ne-Kon,   21,   30. 

lU!.     Hatisiin'.s  The  Ixist   1'rlnce.   183,  184;  Williams'  Ti.-ho-iag\va-nc  gen,  20. 

(U.     Wlllianis'  To-lid-ni-gwa-ni'-gi'ii,   37. 

Cm.  Williams'  Te-ho-ra-gwa-iK'-gcii,  30.  Fm-  the  Miinstrv  „(  Mi-.  Kir  laid  hoe 
Ilpgist.T   XIV.   241;    XLVIII,   CO. 

(ill,  'ni(>  Hev.  .Stpplicii  Wlilianip  died  .Iiiiie  1",  17.s-_',  aflcr  a  |iii-i.piali'  «>v  •!• 
I-piigmcaclow  cliurcli  of  slxlyslx  ycius.  Kcgislor  X.X.KVII,  111:  Illlaiii-.s  Wrshni 
MassarlmsPlts    II,   78;    Willlaiiis'    Williaiiis    faiiiU.v,    71,    S5. 

07,    Willlains'   Williams   family,   42. 

(18,  Tlie  original  .Tofrirsoii  lillcr  li('lijii!.'i'il  to  llu'  widow  i>r  'riioiiiiis  Wliliauis 
It  i«  copied  111  full  III  K.\liiliil  A,  Uc'iort  of  II  ii-o  Commitloc  on  Milii.iiv  Allai  s 
No.    S,'i,   ,'Mtli   (^ongcSH,   'I'liird   .•Session,   .laiiiiary    IC,    lS,'i7. 


HIS  FORERUNXERS,  HIMSELF. 


145 


lams,  as  one  of  tlie  inlUieiitial  Iroquois  chiefs,  to  join  the  American 
standard,  asking  him  to  repress  any  belligerent  movements  which 
might  he  contemplated  by  his  own  or  other  tribes  against  the  United 
States  and  promising  him  full  indemnity  for  any  losses  which  his  loy- 
alty to  the  Republic  might  occasion,  besides  support  for  his  family  and 
himself  during  the  war.''^'  Confiding  in  these  assurances  Thomas 
Williams  removed  to  the  United  .States  in  1813,  an<l  was  soon  followed 
by  his  son  John  and  by  otiicr  Caughnawagans.-"  This  was  not  a 
great  hegira  in  point  of  distance,  but  by  it  he  abandoned  his  Canadian 
home,  sacrificed  an  estate  of  not  less  than  seven  thousand  dollars  and 
lost  an  annuity  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  which  he  had  enjoyed 
irom  the  British  government.  This  removal,  the  active  aid  oi 
Ihomas  and  his  band  against  England  and  the  inertness  or  neutrality 
ot  the  other  Indians  whom  Thomas  influenced,  so  aroused  against 
him  the  resentment  of  his  former  allies  that  he  was  prohibited  from  re- 
turning to  Caughnawaga  to  live— he  went  there  in  the  evening  of  his 
days  to  die. 

It  is  not  to  the  credit  of  the  United  States  government  that 
despite  much  personal  effort  by  Thomas  and  much  solicitation  upon 
the  part  of  his  friends,  his  distinguished  services  in  this  war  were 
not  recpiited.  and  his  large  pecuniary  sacrifices  were  not  made  good 
during  his  lifetime.  That  his  efforts  were  efficient  and  valuable  anri 
were  continued  without  intermission  until  the  clo,sc  of  the  struggle 
was  admitted  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  more  than  fortv  years 
afterward,  yet  both  Thomas  and  his  widow  emphasized  by  their  impov- 
erished and  unrecom])enserl  old  age  the  ingratitude  of  republics.  In 
185*^  too  tardy  justice  was  done  the  estate  and  memory  of  Thomas 
Williams."' 

Respected  and  bjoved  by  his  peo|)le,  in  his  native  village  of 
Caughnawaga,  he  died— but  when?  l<:ieazer  Williams  in  his  bi(.graphy 
..:  his  father  states'-  that  the  latter  died  .\ugust  16.  1849.  But  here 
appears  the  Boston  /).;;7v  Jounial  of  October  17,  1848,  which  in- 
forms th-  world  that  Thomas,  in  his  ninetieth  year,  died  in  Caugh- 
nawaga September  16.  1848.  T(,  prove  that  this'  item  was  not  prem- 
ature. 1^  find  it  repeated  in  the  New  i-Jigland  llislorical  and  Genea- 
logical Retiister  for  Janu.uy  1840 ■•'—abundant  ojjportunity  for  correct 
iiig  the  earlier  publication  ii  incorrect.     I  deem  it  established  tlion-fore 


<!!!.     .\rciii.)iliil  .If  lii.-i   wIiImw,    Miir.v    .Vim    Wllli.iiii-.    d.il   ,1   sVpu.mli  t,    I,m    ;    affldu 
vli    nf    Kloiivrr  wniiain.>.,   .Iiini;iii-.v    1.S.    l.S.-.O.    holli  .ittnoliid   to  said   Rt'iwt   No.    .S3. 
TO.     Willliiiiis'    'IV-li(i-:-ii-;.'\vii-ii,- soil.    72.    7.1,    7«. 

71.  H<.|Miri.  .\i,rn  17.  I.s.-,s.  „f  ir,„is..  CoiiimlllPo  on  .Milllary  AfTnlrs  \,)  3i)t 
.•l.-ith  CmKn'ss.  i-Wsi  ScssUm.  U  iiiitl.orlty  for  Hio  fn.^ts  a.s  to  TlioninK'  ..liang,.  ,.f 
sorvl.'..  and   .is   lo  tlii>   liiidv  .InslUv  of   tlio  Bovonimont  Im  was  iiivltod  to  s,-rvi\ 

72.  Williams'    To  ho  ra-KWaiif-u'rii.   tin. 
7.1.     It.'Klstoi'  Til,    HW. 


Ill 
'PI 


146 


KLEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


t 


1 


that  Eleazer  Williams  blundered  eleven  months  in  penning  the  time 
of  his  father's  death,  and  this  when  writing  within  three  years  after 
the  event  and  -.vhen  the  proper  date  was  well  known  and  had  been 
widely  distributed  in  the  public  prints.  Can  Eleazcr's  sole  authority 
he  accepted  upon  any  point  a>  to  which  general  noninformation  and 
difference  of  opinion  exist?  Are  we  not  justified  in  adopting  th- 
animadversion  of  Lord  Macaulay  upon  Mr.  Croker:^^  "'It  is  not  likely 
tliat  a  person  who  is  ignorant  of  what  almost  everybody  knows  can 
know  that  of  which  almost  everybody  is  ignorant"? 

The  wife  of  Thomas  Williams,  named  Mary  Ann  Rice,  or  Konanto- 
vanteta   was  like  himself  of  mixed  blood.-=  She  was  lineally  descende.l 
from  a 'youth  named  Rice  stolen  by  the  Indians  from  Marlboro    m 
the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  early  in  the  eighteenth  century.^" 
Her  father  was  named  Haronlnimanen.  She  married  Thomas  Williams 
January  7,    1779."     She  was  a   <lovout   Catholic.     In    1852  when    she 
T-iust  have  been  more  than  ninety  years  of  age  she  was  residing  on 
the   St    Regis   reservation  about  eight  miles   from   the   village   ot   St. 
Regis    But  little  bowed  with  age  she  walked  regularly  to  church  with 
no  other  aid  than  a  staff,  an.l  was  .il.lc  to  attend  to  domestic  duties.  She 
was   apparcntlv  a   full-blooded    Indian   and  spoke   no  other   language 
than  Mohawk.".     She  died  May  i,   1856. 7«     As  this  event  happened 
more  than  seventy-seven  years  atler  her  marriage  she  couhl  not  have 
been  far  from  a  centenarian. 

Thomas  and  Mary  .\nn  Williams  had  not  fewer  than  eleven 
children.  There  is  printed  in  Hanson's  The  Lost  I'rincc^^  a  tran- 
s.-riplion  from  the  Register  of  the  Mission  at  Caughnawaga  authen- 
ticated bv  Father  Francis  Marcoux.  priest  at  the  Mission  in  185,^ 
when  the  transcription  was  mad..',  showing  the  names  and  dates  ol 
birth  of  the  eleven  children  of  Thomas  and  ^lary  Ann  there  legis- 
tertd.     T!iis  list  is  as   follows: 

74      .s.v   Mar;.Mlay's  C.Uiciil   iMul   Mimm  Uaiicnus   M.sa.vs    II,   20  (N.'W  York   1878). 
•         --,.    She    ^vas    "tlirc.-f.mrths    Indian ':    S.nitliN    K1.'m/.t    WiUlums,     Wis.     Hist. 

<'m11.   VI,   SW).  ,,. 

7C,  U.ttcT  April  (;,  l.y.»i;,  from  IMuunl  11  Wllliiuns.  .|r.  Tien-  w.re  nv<.  U.c 
hav.s  Silas  and  Timothy,  <apturo(l  at  .Marll.„r.,',  Massarlnisotls,  .Vu^-nst  S,  1,04.  ami 
several  Tarhell  children  seized  at  Urotoii.  same  c.dnny.  .Tune  i!0,  I7n7.  Wards  KHe 
family,  ai;  Green's  Groton,  lOy.  T.,-dav  Ili,e..  ar.  mUmIuHV  at  rar-K-hmi^a^a  and 
l-arhells  at  St.  Regis.  Almost  hair  of  ,1„.  villa,.-  of  Si.  Kuin.ls  n  ar  Ca„phMaw.-,|:a 
was  lu  1774  oomposed  of  Gills  .lesn-ndod  .'nn,  anolh.r  .\..w  Kn.land  oa|,tlve.  See 
Dean  letter  di-.>irilied  at  n-it"'  40. 

T7.     Hanson's  The  I>isl   I'rlnce,   4t:S. 

78.    Williams'    Te-ho-ia-i-'wa-m-u'en.    81t. 

70.    Report  .«).  30a,    House  ruinmiiKe 
Session,   .Vpril  17,   IS.'iS. 

80.  PiiKC  468. 

81.  This  name  oceurs  lowi^r  in   Hi''   I'l.-^t    in  ili* 


lliiin;h's    note, 
nn    Military    Allaiis,   .ITiUl   Co  B  is 


I'll  St 


.loMlilless    so    ii.iiiied    in    eom|ilimciii     i.>   .i"! 
f,.li,.vv.|.aiil.r  ..'■    tla^ir    r.-ilhef.       William-'    T 


I'l'minine  luiiu.     TIi.m'  i  ^vh  wi'H' 
a    liii'n  1    and 


I    Hip'i'^i    'I'ldi'lakhrriiiitii 
li.i  I'M  ;;wa-n''  urn,    ;'8. 


HIS  FORKRUSXERS,  HIMSELF. 


147 


11  eleven 
'  ;i  iran- 
1  .'lutlien- 
1  in  185;, 
dates  <if 
■re    re;j;is- 


I'ilSt 


Jean  Baptistc,"*' 

Catherine, 

riionias, 

Louise, 

Jeanne  Baptist* 

Pierre, 

Pierre, 

Anne. 

Dorotliee, 

Charles, 


ne     ie      7  Sept.   1780. 
nee  le      4  Sept.   1781. 
ne     ie    28  Avr.  1786. 
nee  le     18  .Mai  1791. 
21  Avr.  1793. 


nc 


.Aoiit 


170.= 


Thrc 


Jervais, 
e  facts  appear 


4  Sept.   1796. 

nee  le     30  Janv.   1799. 

2  Aoiit   1801. 

nt-         8  Sept.   1804. 

-'-'  Jnil.  1807. 


I'n  the  lace  01"  this  List: 


A.  The  Ciiristian  name  F.jea.ar  is  not  to  i)e  found; 

B.  There  is  a  gap  of  more  than  four  years  and  seven  months 
Intween  the  hinh  of  Catherine  and  that  of  Thomas: 

C.  There  is  a  gap  of  more  than  live  years  between  the  birth  of 
!  homas  and   that  of  Louise. 

Assuming'  ,or  a  moment  the  truth  ,.f  the  oft-repeated  statement 
ot  .Nfary  Ann  W.lhams,  that  ]-Ieazer  W'illian.s.  the  subject  of  this 
paper,  was  her  chdd,  three  (luestions  present  themselves  I  Where 
vvas  he  born?  IL  Why  was  not  his  birth  recorded  •..  the  Mission 
Register.'     IIL     When  was  he  born? 

On  the  threshold  of  -i  reply  .an  incident  new  t..  the  aggressive 
discussion  of  the  I'llea/er  Williams  problem  must  be  related  Edward 
llivginson  William.,  a  descendant  of  the  emigrant  Robert  Wil'iams 
■•vas  born  ,11  \\  oodstock,  \ermont.  June  i.  1824.  and  graduated  from 
\  ermont  Medical  College  in  1846.  F.ir  more  than  forty  years  he  h-.s 
been  engaged  in'  railroading  and  in  businesses  connected  therewith  In 
1858  he  was  assistant  superintendent  of  the  ^rilwaukee  and  Mississippi ' 
railroad  with  residence  in  Jane.sville:  in  1864  he  became  superintendent 
Ml  the  (.alena  Divisinn  ..f  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Kailwav:  from 
1863  uiitd  1S70  Ir.  ua,  genend  manager  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 
and  irom  1870  until  the  prrsent  time  he  has  been  an<l  is  one  of  the 
tirm  of  J'.urnham.  W  dl.aius  ,nu|  Company  m"  the  Maldwiu  Locomotive 
n..i-ks.  I'hi!a.lel|>hia.  In  1S51  he  w.-is  adopte.l  by  the  Caughnawaga 
Indians  ml.,  their  tribe  under  the  name  m|  Uaristescres.  lie  is  a 
member  of  the  Swedish  Uoyal  Sneiety  and  a  kinght  ,.|  the  Order  oi 
tile    .Vorlh    Star    oi    Sv.eileii. 

in  August  and  laiei-  moiulis  .,i  1S31  this  |),,e!nr  Willi;ims  wa;s 
'  iililoyed  ni  tile  c  Misinutidii  n\  ,a  liiR.  ,,i  railway  at  Caughnawaga 
ihn-iigh  the  resi^rxatiiiu.  As  an  ;idi>pied  nuinber  i.|'  the  tribe  he  was 
Ii\iiig  with  ihr  leading  man  ;ind  i>rineip;il  chief.  <  )  ron-hi-a-tek-ha. 
"r,  (iei.rge   lie    i.nriniier.   an    indiiM   o:    iimch     isnucness   and    capacity. 


-  I  i,  I 


148 


KLEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


'i 


One  Sunday  <lurin.4  the  fall  of  1851   several  gentlemen,  among  tlu-m 
a  Mr    ParUnian'^-  who  was  then  examining  the  reeonls  of  the  Cath- 
olic parish  churches  in  Canada,  visited  Caughnawaga  for  the  purpose 
of    investigating    a    storv    just    then    heconiing   widely    current^'    that 
Elea/.er  Williams  fornierlv  of  that  village  was  not  the  son  n\  Mary  Ann 
Williams  or    Konantewanteta.     The   story    was   new  to   Caughnawaga 
and  de  Lorimier  learning  his  visitors"  errand  decided  upon  a  earelul 
examination.      Inviting    Dr.    Williams   to    be   present   wuh   the   other 
gentlemen    he    sent    for    Konantewanteta    and    tor    two    other    oi    her 
aged   Indian   friends-a  man  and  a   woman.     X<  t  knowmg  why  they 
were  summone.l.  thev  were  kept  apart  from  each  other  an.l  >eparately 
(luestioned  as  to  the  birth  of  I'leazer  Williams.    There  was  no  chance 
for  collusion      KonaiUewanteta  stated  without  reservation  that  Eleazer 
was  her  child  and  that  he  was  born  on  the  shores  of  Lake   George 
when  her  husband's  band  was  hunting  and  fishing  there.      That  Lake 
George  was  a  favorite  camping  ground  of  Thomas   Williams  has  al- 
ready been  shown.  The  ancient  friends  when  called  upon  contirmed  in 
detail  what  Konantewanteta  had  sai.l.  stating  that  they  were  with  the 
band  at  the  time  the  child  was  born  an.l  the  s-piaw  a<lding  that  she 
herself  was  present  at   the  event.     The    interpreter  oi   the   testimony 
was  Alexander  McXab.  a  Scotchman^'  who  was  a  much  trusted  magis- 
trate  in   the  tribe  and   had  an   Indian   wife.     The  examination   being 
completed  Kleazer  Williams'  story  of  his  royal  ..rigiu  was  then  trans- 
lated to  the  assembled   Indians,      (liu-   and  all   vehemently   denounced 
the  talc  as  a  lie.  while  the  little  old  mother  bursting  into  tears  ex- 
elaimed  tliat  slie  knew   Eleazer  had  been  a  bad  man  bm   she  did  not 
know  before  that  he  was  bad  enough  to  deny  his  own  mother.     Ty-ia- 
ya-ki    or   Grand    V.aptiste.   the   pilot    of   the    Eachine    Kapids.    declared 
to  the  companv  that  for  a  long  period  before   l-.leazer  was  ten  years  of 
age  he  was  the  plavmate  and  conii)anion  of  the   witness  at   C  aughna- 
wa-a      Dr.   Williams  writes,  ••riie   mother  o'    i'leazer  was   very  old-- 
possiblv  ..lie  hun.lred.     She  was   what   might  be  called   feeble-mmde.l 
as  old  people  are.  but  not  in  any  way  lacking  m  umlerstandin.g.     I  lei 
testimony  came  out  in  pieces  as  in  the  case  of  old  people  and  .rom 
the  appearance  of  the  Indians  and  of  h-  rsHf  during  and  alter  the  read- 


,S'>  Or  Williams  1ms  ahvnys  s.i|.p.s  d  ili.it  tl.is  was  Fraiwls  rarUmm 
torian.  If  so.  his  opinion  of  F.i.azrr  Willlanw.  in  IlMf-Cnfmy  of  CmfliK. 
.loiiMloss   hasod  on   tlio  tpstlmoli.v   sivcn  at   lliis   inv,.s.li;:ation. 

S.T      Alllioncli    the    slor.v    of    Kloazor   Williams,    as    tlii>    .1  .U|.liin    lia.I    1.. 

what   known  heforo  an.l  in.l 1  lanl  i.r.M.  pnl.li-lo.l  ^n  tl,.'  rnlt.Hl  St.it.-s  N.a'.-a 

DenuK-ralir  U.-vlow  of  .Inl.v.  1S41..  no  ..spe.Mal  att..ntl..n  lia.I  born  «'von  t.) 
Je,.t  nntil  Iho  Now  York  rouri.i-  an.l  Knnniivr  loil.lisli.Ml  n'tl-los  a'.o.it  It  in 
of   1S.-.1. 

,<!.».    Tlio    )ii-cs..nt    priPst    at    .an'-'lniawa^  i.    11.'    It   ■■•.    t.    <!.    I-     Fo  l.cs    i 
Sroti'linian. 


tlio  Irs- 
I.   .«S.   Is 

11     SOIIlfi- 

zini'  aiul 
til"  snli- 
thp  fall 

s   also    a 


HIS  FOREHIWNERS,  UIMSELK 


149 


"ig  wf  thf  >tatciiuiu  it  .va.s  fvick-m  tliat  tlicy  tlun  heard  it  for  tlie  first 
tinu'. "''•■' 

Tu  tliis  narrative  ol  a  relial.le  and  veracions  auditor  and  eye-witness 
like  Dr.  Williams  I  attach  great  importance.  The  statement  of  the 
mother  corroborate!  by  lier  aged  comi)ani()ns  bears  the  marks  of 
exact  tnitli.  .Made  witli  mucii  formality,  made  in  the  presence  of  the 
tribal  chief,  made  in  the  first  blush  of  the  false  tale,  made  before 
cupidity  had  been  aroused  and  base  motives  invoked,  made  before 
the  centenarian  had  been  physically  harassed  and  mentally  torincntcd 
by  opponents  and  adherents  of  F.Ieazer's  claims,  made  eighteen  months 
and  two  years  before  aliidavits  apparently  inconsistent  had  been  tor- 
lured  from  her  agitated  ;ind  hence  vacillating  memory,  this  solemn 
declaration  of  the  aged  s(|ua\v  and  her  dusky  friends  should  be  accept- 
ed as  very  truth,  should  forever  relegate  Eleazer  Williams  to  the 
too  numerous  company  of  unconscionable  pretenders.**" 

Returning   now    to    the   three   (piestions: 

r.  Where  was  Kleazer  Williams  born?  Upon  the  testimony  of 
his  mother— at  Lake  (Jeorge.  Eleazer  himself  relates  that  Thomas 
Williams  was  much  at  Lake  George  after  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary  War."'" 

II.  Why  is  not  Eleazer's  birth  recorded  in  the  Mission  Kegister? 
ISecause  it  did  not  take  place  at  the  Mission.  Absentee  births  were 
not  re(|uired  to  be  listed  at  the  home  Mission.  One  object  of  regis- 
tering births  was  to  keep  track  of  the  parents,  but  as  Indians  desiring 
to  be  away  must  first  have  obtained  permission  from  the  Indian  agent, 
of  which  a  record  was  kept,  absentees  were  traceable  with(nU  regis- 
tration o!  their  olTspriiig.  So  Father  Marcoux  stated  to  Dr.  Williams 
and  so  investigation  of  the  parish  l)ooks  at  Caughnawaga  disclosed. «« 
Moreover,  the  attidavit  of  the  old  mother  Koiiantewanteta.  of  July  8. 
185.V  the  original  of  which  Fdeazer  Williams  prepared. '•"  the  transla- 
tion of  which  Mr.  Hanson  corrected""  and  the  original  and  translation 
of  which  the  latter  i)rints  with  much  flourish,  proves  that  one  at 
least  of  the  children  whom  l^leazer  allows  Konantewanteta  to  count 
as  her  unchallenged  very  own.  is  not  registered  at  the  Mission.     Xam- 


is    illso    II 


■S,'.     I,.-ll.'r   .\lii.v    11,    IV.IC,    ,,r   ];ilvv;iiil    11.    WiUi.-uiis.  ,\r. 

8t!.  Tlie  iihovi'  iiionniil  of  llio  oxaniliiiitloii  <.f  tlir  .igMl  TmliMiis  is  from  Dr. 
WlllliUiis'  cpwii  llii.«.  wiitti'ii  hy  his  s.iii  ImIwiiiiI  I[.  Williams,  jr..  ami  <(intalr.'il  in 
Ipttors  II.  nil-  ilntiMl  April  (i.  i;!,  1,',,  l>!i  amF  .Ma.v  li,  I.SIHI.  .\.  ivfiMviiiv  to  tlip  s.nnio 
oxainliintliui  will  lie  found  in  Tlio  Xali'ni,  .Tuiir  It,  |S!M.  4ti;.  in. 111  (ho  poii  ..r  ihr. 
.voiiiicor    Mr.    Wililanis. 

S7.     Wiiilaius'  Ti.-ho-i;i-Kwa-iii'-KOii.   ,'t7. 

8S.  I^'ttors,  April  0,  1,".,  1,S!M!,  Iroiii  Kihvaid  11.  Wili'iiiiis.  ,lr. :  Williams-  Uo- 
ili'iiiu'il   rajillvo.    17!):    llrapor's  Ailiiitlonal   Xoti-s,   Wis.    Hist.    Coll.   VIII,  :\r,t\. 

S!».  Kills'  Kloa/.iT  Williams,  Wis,  Hist,  ('oil,  VIII,  .^,-,4_l:  Ri.ljortsmi's  Tlio  I^ast  of 
till'    Hmiilou    Story,    I'liliiam's.    II    11.    s.,   92, 

!l(i.     llaiis.orn   Till'    liiist    rrliicv,    4;14, 


II 


160 


KLKAZKR  WILLIAMS. 


\ 


iiig  Ikt  proKfiiy  in  somewliat  of  a  i-liroiioIo^;ical  order,  Koiiantcwantcla 
in  that  allidavil'"  is  made  to  mciitioii  tliird  in  order  a  child  l>j;iiatius — 
a  name  whicli  l)y  no  philuloj^ical  strategy  can  be  nianoenvred  into 
any  other  name  on  the  Mission  List,  a  name  wliich  I'.ieazer  evidently 
forgot  to  observe  was  not  on  the  Mission  List,  a  name  whieh  tits 
exactly  into  the  first  gap  in  the  Mission  List,  as  Eleazer's  tits  exactly 
into  the  second. 

I  am  thus  brouglu  to  the  third  (iiiestion, 

in.  When  was  Kleazer  William-  born?  The  fact  that  Konante- 
wantcta  could  give  no  date,  the  fact  that  she  was  a  frequent  visitor 
at  Lake  George,  render  this  ([uestion  difticnlt.  1  agree  with  Mr. 
Hanson  that  when  he  wrote  nothing  certain  was  known  concerning 
the  problem.''-  It  is  sure,  however,  that  no  authority  prtiduced  by 
him  ha-  carried  the  birth  date  back  to  March,  J785— the  time  of  the 
dauphin's  birth.  Much  reliance  has  been  placed  upon  Lleazer's  own 
statement"''  in  his  application  for  masonic  membership  in  Green  Bay 
in  i8_'4  that  he  was  then  thirty-two  years  of  age.  that  is,  born  about 
\-/i)2.  Apart,  however,  from  the  circumstance  that  i'.leazer  as  an  adult 
was  notoriously  nnr<'liable  in  <he  matter  of  vital  statistics,  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  Mission  List  will  show  that  for  physical  reasons  179-2  was 
an  impracticable  if  not  an  impossible  year.  Nevertheless  in  the  ab- 
sence of  additional  authentic  information  which  Ivleazer  appears 
never  to  have  possessed,  the  above  statement  estops  him  from  his 
later  claim  that  he  was  born  in  1785,  especially  when  in  1851  he  assert- 
edoi  that  in  1812  he  was  twenty-three  or  twenty-f<4ir  years  old. 

No  opinion  worthy  of  a  second's  thought  or  of  a  feather's  weight 
has  thrown  the  date  of  Eleazer's  birth  hack  of  the  second,  or  later, 
gap  in  the  Mission  List.  Dr.  S.  W.  Williams,  the  author  of  77(.' 
iniliams  Faiitily  writes''"'  that  Eleazer  frecpiently  uave  171K)  as  about 
his  birth   year;   Calvin   Colton,   his   school-mate,    states""    in    iS.V)   that 

yi.    .Smilirs    KUmzci-    Williams,    Wis.    lllsl.    <'„11,    VI,    aiii;    Iliuisnirs    Tli.     L  st 

Prlnct!,  4,15. 

'M.  Ifaiisoirs  Tlio  Lost  I'rincr,  1S'.>.  It  is  plcilsniit  oociisloiiiill.v  to  iiKrce  with 
Mr.  H.-inson  wlioso  stDtpnients  of  fnct  an:  not  silddin  liidlciviis.  Tims  on  imgi"  184 
Colonel  Kplinilni  Williams  is  desirilMil  us  '•an  lionoivd  aii«estoi-  oi'  th  •  Williams 
famil.v."  r.iit  infant.s  lu  the  Kcnoalos.v  of  Ni-w  r.n«lai;(l  familiis  Know  tlmt  Colonel 
Wlllitims,  lionoieil  tlionKh  iio  was  and  is,  was  a  liaeli>l.ir,  SlioUloirs  Deerlleld  II,  aTS; 
Everett's  Address,  (In  Everett's  Orations  and  S'lieeclies  II.  li.'!!').  .\s  to  llie  rella- 
l>lllty  of  Mr,  Hanson's  statements  in  ll.nr  11"  .1  IU>ii-!,oii  Mi.inr^  Is-  read  ilie 
Chaumont  letter  In  Pntnam's,  II,  117. 

03.  TliG  orlKinal  applleation  Is  in  tli"  lil.rar.v  of  ilje  Wiscoii.>in  lllstoii  al  So- 
ciety.    See   It  printed   in   Smith's   Kleazer   Willianjs,    Wis.    Ui-t.   Cll.    VI.  am. 

f(4.    WllUnuis'    Te-ho-ra-cwa-ne-fien,   <',;i. 

O.'i.  Williams'  Hedeemed  Captive,  17(1.  In  1S5I,  Eleazer,  \isiiinu'  wlili  Or.  S. 
W.  Williams,  st)i)ke  in  the  laii<r',s  liearin'.'  id'  heiiiK  the  daiiiihin.  S  ni  ■  onf  of  h\* 
host's  family  having  en.iuire'i  hi.-  a:.-,  'i"  replied:  "If  I  am  a  Williams  I  am  s,,  „\'\. 
l)nt  If  I  anr  tin;  dunphin  I  am     id.''." 

90.     Collon's  'I'.. or,    I.    l".*- 


HIS   l-'oRKUrsyERS.  HIMSELF. 


151 


KIcazer  in   iXoo  was  '•])ciliai)-i  ten  years  old;"   Mr.  Hale,  with  whose 
lather  at   Northampton    Eleazer   was   a   pupil,    sayso^    tliat   when    lie 
first  saw  Eleazer  in   1800  tho  latter  was  then   but  ten  years   of  age; 
t  Governor    Williams   ol    Vermont   who   knew    Eleazer   from   childhood 
~upposed'-'S   he   was   horn    in    1700.   and   two    Indians   of   CauglinawaK-i 
who  were  children   with  him  declared   their  opinion   in    1853  that  he 
vvas  about  tweKe  or  thirteen  years  of  age  when  he  first  went  to  the 
I'uited  States,  which  time  is  known  to  be   1800.'"'     The  documents  of 
Deacon  Nathaniel   Ely  of  Longmcadow,  at  whose  home  Eleazer  be- 
yan  to  live  in  'Soo.  vary  in  yiving  his  birth  year  (omitting  one  palpable 
error  of  ^y>i\')  lutween  178;  and  1788'""— the  l.itter  date  pre|)onderatin.u 
Indeed.    1788   IS   the    year    which    Mr.    Edward    H.    Williams,    jr..    of 
I'.i'thleheni    Pennsylvania,  has  adopted  as  the  true  one  from  evidence  se- 
cured during  liis  genealogical  researches. i"i     It  will  be  observed  that 
all  these  opinions  focus  in  the  space  which   I  have  called  the  second 
gap  in  the  Mission   List,  that  is  to  say.  in  the  years   1787.   1788.    1780 
and    early    1790— an    approxiniation    which    agrees    with    his    mother's 
inicontra<licted   averment   that    ICleazer   was    b.er    fourth    child.'"-      I'or 
myself    I   i)lacc    implicit    reliance   upon   the   date   ascertainable    from    a 
letter    concerning    Eleazer    written    .\pril   6,    181  r.    to    the    Rev.    John 
Hrodhead    Kf)meyn,    I),    T).,    of    Now    York    by    the    Rev.    Richard    S. 
Storrs.  the  successor  of  the    Rev.   Stephen  Williams  in   Longmeadow 
clnircli.     Mr.  Storrs,  writing  on  the  authority  of  the  lad's  father  says. 
••|-.leazer    Williams   came   to    this  town    in   January   of  the    year    i8fxi; 
the  .May  following  be  was  twelve  years  old."'"''  That  is.   h'.leazer   Wil- 
liams   was    born    in    ]klay.    T788.    and    as    the    dauphin    of    I-rance    was 
born   March  27.   1785.  wc  have  here  a  sort  of  natal   alibi.      I'.ain^hing 
now  all  assumptions  and  suppositions  I  lay  down  as  a  fad  of  bi story  — 
for   "History,    like    the   elephant's    trunk,    concerns    herself    with    very 
little    things"— that    Eleazer   Williams    was    the    son    of   Thomas    and 
.Mary   Ann   Williams  and  that  he  was  born    on   the   shores  of    Lake 
( ieorge  in   May.  T788. 

The  name  bestowed  on  this  son  is  not  without  interest  in  connec- 
lion  with  hi-  ancestry.  TTis  great  progenitor  Eunice  Williams  die.l. 
it  will  \yv  reineinbered.  in  I78(i.  Tfer  ^r.-indfather's  name  was  l-'.leazer; 
her  elde>t  brother's  name  was  l'".leazer.  Is  it  too  much  to  snpiiose 
that  Ei:ni-c  ha<l  instructed  her  family  concerning  her  New  iMiLjland 
kin?      U  oiild   not    Tboina>  be   (|uick   to   honor   her   nieiiioiy    wliei:    his 

!•".  \\  illi.imB"  ll(Mleoii!0(l  Captivo.  ITfi. 
!IS.  AViil'iiiiis'  ItiMleeinfa  Cuptivo.  is;!. 
W.  Sinitli's  VM-,v/.vr  Willi.-iiiis.  Wis.  \\\>\. 
llHi.  Hiinsmi's  Tlio  T/iis(  rrlnci'.  IS  1. 
101.  I^.Kpr,  Mil.v  2.  ISfld.  from  KiUvni.!  II 
Wl.  Siiiitli's  Kli'.'izrr  Willi.'niw,  Wi~,  lli-i, 
I'riii.i-.    i;.;::. 

ll'-'f.      l.i.hL:'lli'.iil.n\     I 'i.|ili||lii:il.    L':;il. 


•  '.  n.   VI.  .•;!  I.  .".i.-, 


Willi.iiii-.    .ii- 

I '..I  I.    \i,   ;; 


IMii 


Th"    lo^l 


152  ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 

next  son  was  born?  Here  the  Storrs  letter  again  speaks:  -^^^^^^ 
was  baptized,  as  is  supposed,  in  his  infancy  by  a  Catholic  pnest  His 
Tather  informeo  nie  that  he  named  him  after  his  granduncle  F>azer 
Williams,  first  minister  of  Alansfield,  Connecticut,  i" 

Vivid  pictures  are  preserved  of  Eleazer's  boyhood  at  Caughna- 
waga  beginning  with  his  third  year.  Clad  only  in  a  shirt,  bare-looted 
and  ba  e'limbed  he  roamed  about  the  Indian  hamlet,  suffering  from 
exposure  to  cold  and  storms,  and  scar.-mg  his  legs  from  rough  con- 
tact with  rocks,  briars  and  thorns.  These  inclemencies.  ^^^l^'H^ 
precipitous  clif!  at  Lake  George,  the  scrofulous  tendencies  '"  tnc  VV  d- 
liams  fainil".  and  the  self-infliction,  later  in  life,  by  means  of  las le 
and  tartar-emetic,  of  blisters  suggesting  marks  of  shackles  and  othe 
iniuries.  go  a  long  way  to  explain  the  brands  and  scars  upon  ^icazcr  s 
adult  person.io.'-  the  sight  of  which  made  Mr.  Hanson  cry.^ 

Mv-l-.  !'->,  been  attempted  to  be  made  of  these  scars  as  establish- 
ing ilK-  Klentity  of  the  princely  ynitli.  who  died  at  ten  years  in  1 795. 
with   the  man  who  after    1848  and   after   he   was   sixty   years   ot   age 
exhibited  these  marks  for  the  first  time  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
such  identity. "n    Yet  this  kind  of  evidence  is  fragile,  is  deceptn-e.     On 
Jhe  bodies  of  several  persons  may  be  often  seen  scars  so  similar  that 
at  a  short  distance  of  time  it  is  impossible  to  remember  how  they  ar^ 
disMn.niishable.     Yet  in  the   instance  in  hand,  there   is  an   interval   ol 
more  than  half  a  century.     Scars  also  wear  out  in  the  course  of  t.nie^ 
Thev  also   may  be    simulated.i««     "Such   imprints   are   not   protected 
from  piracy  by  any  law  of  copyright.""^    Eleazer  apparently  produced 
.cars  to  order.     When  the  Dauphin  articles  first  appeared  in  ruln.m 
Fleazer    had    ready    the    wounds   upon    Ins    legs   to    correspond    with 
vou.   -  louis-  legs.""     But  when   Reauche.sne's  volumes  arrived  from 
beyond  seas  and  disclosed  that  the  young  prince  had  had  scars  upon 
his  arms    lo'  Eleazer  found  tliese  :dso  ui.on  his  own  ui^per  liml)s. 
One  of  the  most  graphic  scenes  in  connecti  .n  with  Eleazer's  persona- 
tion  of  rovaltv  was  when  in  the  .tim  religious  light  ot   a  church  he 
exhibited  to  Dr.  N'inton.  Dr.  Hawks  an.l   Mr.   Hanson  an  moculat.on 


« 


KM. 

1(1,''.. 

!.'■>.    .Miiy 

lOfi. 

t07. 

IjiinI    I)a\i| 
"Tlic   Ixtsl 

KIS. 

ni'.t. 
111). 
111. 


;n.'t.    :U4;    Iji'lleis,    Air; 


l^iiiciiiciKliiw    Ci'i  tomilal,    2.10. 

.Snillns    r.lrii/.cM-    Wllllnins,    Wis.    Hlsl.    Coll.    VI. 

11     IHilC,   ficim  Kthviii-a   H.    WlUiaum,  ji'. 
Vinton's    I.,nls    .WII    .n.l    KI.m,/,..'   Wlllla.ns.    l-MUinMrs,    11.    ...    ^-J^''- 
H<i..son-s    Tho    I>«t    l>.M...'o,    .-lO.V    Kvnns'    Tl.,.    S.or.v    o.^    L.i.is    -^yi-J^; 

TlM.    I.„„„l.l..    I..    •!.• I'M.v.    1..    l'.HM-  (V,n,...v    .\(lvo,:l....    I>,  ......brr   J2.    ISIU. 

,,,in    of    VvMW..    i..    .Mllw.u.k...    S,-n.l....l.    I.......„1mm.    •J'..,    ISIM;    W..t..r..,:,<.  s 

ITI..11,"    111  t'liliiit;..  I.iU'i-O.ciii.  or   IVIji-ui.ry  «.    !«>'.. 
Wlmrtoi.  \    SlllK'-s  M.'illrnl  .Iiirls|i.-iiil.-i.ic,    III.    S'MO. 
Tl.o    All.i'i.i.i'i..i..    FclLiiiiry   :t.    1S1I4,    imnc    142. 
Hi.iisoii-s   lliivo  Wo  ;i   r.oi.ilM.li   AiiioUt:   I's?  •  Pi.tniim's,    I. 
.siimiis'    Irnqnols   Umirlioii.    Un. 


108. 


HTS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


153 


mark  upon  his  shoulder  in  the  shape  of  a  crescent,  to  correspond  witli 
a  Hke  mark  which  tlie  duchesse  d'  Angouleme  had  stated  would  be 
found  upon  the  royal  shoulder  of  her  gcnuino  brother. "- 

Returning  now  to  Eleazer's  childhood:  While  his  father  was  visit- 
ing Longmeadow  in  the  winter  of  1796-7,  Deacon  Nathaniel  Ely,  jr.,'^' 
I  whose  wife  was  Thomas  Williams'  second  cousin)  proposed  to  Thom- 
as that  he  send  to  Longmeadow  one  of  his  sons  to  attend  school. 
The  proposition  was  favorably  received  but  at  first  came  to  nothing. 
In  December.  1799,  Deacon  Ely  sent,  through  a  neighbor  traveling 
in  Canada,  a  letter  to  Thomas  containing  an  otTer  to  receive  two  of 
liis  sons  to  be  educated.  The  motive  was  a  religious  one — that  tiie 
youths  would  l)econie  m  ssionaries  to  their  race.'**  .Accordingly 
on  January  _',?,  iSoo""'  T'lomas.  with  Eleazer  and  a  younger  son. 
.irrised  in  Longmeadow  .uul  tlic  lads  began  to  live  In  the  faniilv  of 
Mr.  Ely. 

.\  few  sentences  from  Colton's  Tour  of  the  American  Lakes  will 
give  a  photograph  of  these  two  Indian  boys  as  they  emerged  from  un- 
civilized and  sylvan  seems  into  the  routine  of  a  New  England  school. 
.\1v.  Colton  wTs  a  pui)il  at  Longmeadow  where  Eleazer  and  his  l)rother 
beg;in  their  stmlies  .ind  w.is  an  eyewitness  of  what  he  has  printed. 
His  book  was  published  in    iS,^_:j: 

I'liiin  llio  wililiii'ss  (if  llii'lr  iiiitiin  miiiI  hiibils  it  wiis  iicoossiir.v  for  llio  iiwistPr 
t.)  liiiniDiiP  tlicii'  iMcciilrlritli'.s  until  llioy  iiililit  uniilnnll.v  noccriniHiidiUi'  tlipii:selvrs  lo 
lilscii.liiie;  .•\iiil  liiit  fi.r  tlir  linii'v.ilciu  Mlijoct  ill  view,  jiiul  tie  so:  i1  iint'i-lp.'iu  d.  it  w.Ts 
no  siMiiH  sjiirlliii'  lo  I'liiliiiT  llic  illsonlcp  wlili'h  tlioh-  manners  ill  lii'st  oroiUod.  fnuscil 
10  icsiiaini  mill  nin.nziMl  nt  tin-  milei'ly  siones  iii'onnd  tlicin.  the  y  wuiilil  sudilfnly  jiinin 
iind  cry   riiipli:   or  sonic  oil»r  iliiiriictciisllc  iiml   guttural  oxc'iiiniitioii.   and   tlicn   jior- 

hnps  s|iriii;r  iiiross    tlio   i in   ninl    in.ikc    :i    inn-    Imlinii    ii^siinlt    upon    a    child   on    wlicini' 

llicy  liad  lixcil  ihiir  eyes,  in  jiis  im  snmii  airriulit  mid  constprnalPin;  or  else  dan  onl 
of  the  house  .'iiiil   i:ilic  to  tin  ir  heels  in  Mich   a  dircelioii   ns   their  whims  micht    Incline 

lliciii.     Conil iient  tlipy  I'oiild    ill  einliirc  at  llrst ;   ,ind  so  loiitf  iis  thoy  did   nothing'  hiir 

■  ■i-e.iii'  disorder  land  timt  they  did  vi  ry  cireeliiaily i  llioy  were  liidiilKcd  until  liy  dc- 
L'rces  thoy  liecaiiip  nsod  to  discipline  ami  hcyaii  i.i  learn.  Tiiidr  llrst  iillempts  liy  ini'- 
iiition  lo  eniniclato  the  Iclters  of  llu'  Koman  alphahct  were  iiiiile  iiiniisin« -so  dilMciilt 
\vas  it  to  foriii  their  tontines  and  other  oi^'iiiis  lo  the  prepcr  sliapcs.  [f  the  ohildrcii 
Ml'   lhi.   sehiMd    lailLdied    (as   there    was   sniiii'   apoh  yy    for   iloiii;:i    ilu'se    li.iys    would    s  ilie- 


A|.r;l 


ML',     \  iiii..n%    {.,,uis    x\||.    ,,ird    ivi'Mzer    Wlliiiuns.      I'litiianr-,    II    n     s.    .'J::il. 

n:i  M.nilia  Williiiiiis.  IhO'ii  in  M.iy,  I  r;;;i,  ihi'  daiiiriitcr  u(  ih,.  Itcv.  Slojlie'i 
Willhiins  III'  l,nii),'inea,l,nv ,  n.airh'd  .lainn  ry  ;.  I7.".:i.  Or.  SMinnel  Iteyiiohls  and  had 
iiiiioik;    ,p|ler    ■■hililrcii.    ■„    miui.i-'IiIci-    Klizal""h.       fpoii    I  lie    dentil    of     lir.     U,  yn.dds    his 

■.viilew    h.'eaiiie,    nil    Noveinlier    l."i,     17S7,     Ihe    fourth    wife    of    De: n     .\al!ianlil    Ely. 

lie  died  III  his  idiihly  r.inr'li  year  I  i,mm  inlier  U':\.  ITii'.i.  and  Ids  whlow  died  a^'d  nlncty- 
tvv..  years  I'e'niniry  Is,  isi;.",.  |i,.;.,',,n  Ely's  si  n  of  IiIk  tlrst  ;narrlat,'e.  Do.- con  Nathnn- 
ii'l  h'.ly.  .junior,  m.irrled  TehnMij  ll'i,  17,m;.  said  M  i/.al  clli  l!e.>  i  ol  s,  'lids  s  III' 
Deae.in  i;i,v  .if  the  icM.  Ii,.j;is|.'r  .X.XXV.  i'tS;  l.onuineioicw  Cent  nnlal.  .\ppenillx. 
I  a.ae  i;o,  Wllliiiin^'  Willlaiiis  I'amil..-  ,sii  i.:  elisenre  and  iiiccr  el  here.  KeneMi  Kl,\, 
,ir  ,   died  .lime   i;i.    i.siis. 

111.     I.iiii^ineadow    (',.|iteniiiid,    'SUi.    l.':!!. 

II.'..     Il.inson's    Tlie    I<ist    I'riiiee.    i!ll. 


154 


ELEAZER   WILLIAMS. 


times  cast  a  contcMiiiituoiis  roll  of   tlio  pyo  over  tlio   little  asseralily   iiiul  then  Icavliii! 
aD  ••Uinpli:"  hfliinil  tliein  would  dan  out  of  tlio  house  In  retieiitiiunt.llO 

I  request  unprejtidicecl  readers  to  answer  whetlier  cither  of  these 
boys  prior  to  entering  LonKnieadow  school  liad  ever  dwelt  in  the 
palace  of  \\M-sailles.  and  had  his  infantile  intellect  enlightened  or  his 
manners  moulded  h.v  the  best  instructors  in  iM-ance. 

But  aided   by  earnest  teachers  and  assisted  by   salutary   domestic 
training,  the  young  Indian   foresters  slowly  began  to  tame.     The  de- 
velopment of  Eleazer's  powers  and  capacities  was  not  slow,  although 
as  will  be  disclosed  he  never  became  a  great  sc! -.lar  or  even  ;i  studiou> 
man.     With  the  example  of  Deacon  Ely  before  him  he  seems  to  have 
become  quite  apt  as  a  diarist,  and  from  his  journals,  if  the  documents 
printed    as    >ucli    by    Mr.    Hanson    can    be   accepted    as    contemporary 
with   their  dates,    some   opinion   can  be   formed   of  his   mental    state. 
These    writings,    which    .Mr.    Hanson    jmlges"'    began    abotU    t8o_>    or 
iSo.v  are  whal  might  be  exjjected  I'ldnt  a  youth  of  fifteen  or  thereabouts, 
backward   in   his  education,   and   hami)ered   by  his   early  environment, 
yet   struggling    for   a    more    ambitious    career    than    that   of   a    hunter. 
That  he  was  inlluenci-d   by  the   p'ety  of  his  benefactor,   yet   unskilled 
in  the  expression  of  befitting  thoughts  may  be  judged  from  an  entry 
of   December  o,   ]8oj.   in  bis  Jourual:^^^   "Cod   is  once  more  pleased 
to    scr.d   our    father.      He    came    to-day    about    sundown    and    brought 
us  news  that  my  sister  is  sick,     (iod  be  praised."     The  diary  of  Dea- 
con Ely  shows  that  in  these  early  years  of  Longmeadow  life  Eleazer 
was    much    sulxlued    liy    religion-^    intluences    and    while    under    their 
sway  he  recorded  his  age  to  be  thirteen  years  when   he  first  reached 
Longmeadow. ''■'      .A    seemingly    impaired    state    of    health,    his    unfa- 
miliarity  witli  routine  and  discipline.  dro\c  him  to  travel  as  a  pm-tion 
of  his  education      Thus,  in  iSo.s.  he  .and   Deacon    I'.ly  were  in    Hoston; 
later  in  the  year  he  was  in  Catiad.-i.     Tn    iSoO  he  began   to  -tudy   with 
Dr.     Welch     of     Manstield,     Connecticnl.     where     de-cendanls    oi     the 
Rev,  John  Williams  resuled.     In  May  1807  he  was  at  H.irti'ord  wl  ere. 
he   met    President    Dwighl    of    N'ale    ("olleue   who   noticed   wliat   oilier- 
later    noticed,    that    he    little    resembled    hi-    indi;iii    ancestors.'-"      Tn 
Xovember.    1807.  -till  seeking  health  he   visited   Dartmouth   College.'-' 
lie    niu-t    have    tarrie<l    here    Mime    litlh     time    in    Miidy,    l^.r    I'arlsin.an 
writes'--'    that    l^'-leazer   was   "educated    at    Dartmouth."    and    the    lloii 


ami 

till,  Cillnii't.    ■\\<n"    I.    I'l-V      'I'll''    .•nillinr    must    liiivo    f.iX'll""    Hii'-    I"- 

hc     Ul-utr  'I'hc     IaisI      I'l-lMCe.      ill     I'MlllMlll     in.      -'!-.      -Hi'. 

117.  lliinson's  Tlif  !*.-(    rrlme.   I'.i.S. 

Its.  ItiiiiMiiirs  Tlio   I.0SI    I'rin.^o.    I'.IO. 

Mil  IlMrisou's    The    1/ s(     I'llrii  e,     I'.iii. 

\'2i>.     liuinlit's    TriiM'l.'i,    11.    I'.!'. 

llil,     llMlisoif-    'ni.-    l.n-.|     I'l-liicr,    •.'!(!. 

Ij'j,     l-Mi-k u'-     ll:ill-i'Miliiry    c,f    rmilliit.    S7.      Tie    riiilio'    if    Ills' 


■.!ii;e    wlieli 


rv 


.  f     lie 


imui.hin.    ill    I'liil'd    s-,i.-    Mili;il/.llie   mid    Di'iiineriit  :e    ltev|,-w    I'.i'  .lu'y,    IMll.    p'L'i'    i:'.. 
.-iiv*    iliMI     Ki.'M/ei-     w.i'^    Mill     t.i     III.'     .Vriili'iuy     .'III led     "ill     I  >  II'  In  m '  ii     Mill     sii- 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


I'iS 


:  nil     sll 


nrable  Norman  Williams  of  Vermont  has  preserved  the  circumstance 
that  he  made  young  Eleazer's  acquaintance  while  the  latter,  of  about 
twenty  years  of  age  or  thereabouts,  was  a  student  in  Hanover.  Eleazer 
was  then,  so  Mr.  Norman  Williams  said,  ^  very  pompous  person, 
wore  a  tinsel  badge  or  star  on  his  left  breast  and  styled  himself  Count 
de  Lorraine.'-''  This  trifling  affectation  seems  whimsical  enougii 
while  reading  in  Eleazer's  Journal^-*  his  comment  on  the  Hanover 
students:  "The  young  gentlemen  appear  to  be  scholars,  but  I  per- 
ceive that  there  is  something  wanting  in  them  to  make  them  complete 
gentlemen.     ]\[odesty  is  ihe  ornament  of  a  person." 

In  December,  t.So(),  he  became  a  pupil  of  the  Rev.  Enoch  Hale  oi 
West  Hampton  with  whom  he  continued  nominally  until  August,  1812. 
Diirnig  the  early  part  of  this  jx-riod  he  did  much  traveling,  making 
amf)ng  other  tours  a  journey  to  the  Caughnawagas,  at  the  instance  of 
the  .American  Board  of  .Missions,  to  ascertain  the  prospect  of  intro- 
ducing Protestantism  :imong  his  own  people.  It  was  during  this 
period  also  that  he  lirst  came  into  clo.se  contact  with  the  ProtestanI 
F.piscopal  Church  in  the  person  of  Bishop  Hobart  of  New  York 
"who  even  at  that  early  day  was  attracted  by  him  and  showed  him 
much  attention  "'-''  Early  in  t8ii  he  again  visited  Caughnawaga  on 
a  similar  mission  to  his  l"ormer  errand,  but  upon  this  trip  new 
intlucnces  wen-  biduglu  to  bear  upon  him.  The  Jesuits  approached 
him  with  a  i)ropi)sition  to  accept  authority  from  their  bisliop  as  a 
teacher  to  the  Indians  of  his  tribe.     Although  educated  by  Congrega- 

iiiinoil  !i  u;iiiiil  rciMiiMiioii  for  si|ii!l:iislii|>  iiiid  f  livi.iH.aM  cliariclcr.  Tlmt  le  wns  I'o* 
in  (li(^  idlli';;,.  imiin'i-  Is  sliown  by  ;!io  nlisonoo  vi'  liis  n.anio  t'roni  do  ro  ords,  t'Oiisn.v 
n'pni'ls.  I'nl.il.iyncs  Mnii  liU,.  p;i|iiMs  n-l.itlnc  tit  lli:i(  insiiinli  n.  S  ■■■  l'r(t.!i!on  Tti  k- 
iT's  li'tlor.   .\ni;nst  :!."i,    IS'.M!. 

li'l.  Noi-niaii  Williams.  h,.i-n  Oi't,ilii.r  n.  1701.  wms  tin'  chli  si  sun  ..r  tin  H.  n 
.ii'alili'  .Ics.sc  anil  Ilaniiali  (Palmer  <if  ."^dininvrhni.  r,iiin.i  Willi  ini^.  .To-s  ■  wa'^  a-sm-- 
alo  ,1mlp.'  Ill'  the  I'Dnimon  picas  of  Windsor  ('onnly.  Vorni  nt.  luul  wis  olcrtcil  prcsld- 
inu  .inilj,'i<.  Doi-linlii!,'  this  fnisl  Iir  was  f.ir  many  years  Jad'-'t^  of  llio  llarifiird,  'Vii'- 
monl.  disli-iii.  His  sun  Norman  was  hI-<.  a  lawyer.  Sei-relai'y  of  tile  Verninnl  Fen 
ate.  Seeretarv-  uf  Siaie  ..f  Vonnont.  State  .<';ialoi-,  and  for  marly  thirty  'rnrs 
roniKy  rierl,  of  Windsor  Connty.  His  wifo  Mary  .\nn  We;;t\viirtli  Tlrown  doylsod  tl.o 
ureal  seal  of  \lie  siaie  and  tlio  seals  of  several  enniitlns  ami  eunris.  'i'liolr  son  Pr. 
i'Mwanl  II.  Williams,  froipionlly  menlioned  in  lliis  pai  or.  and  liy  whom  Ids  latli-r's 
faets  have  r.aelied  me.  has  Iniilt  on  tlio  old  liomostead  In  WomIrIocIc  n  fn  o  me- 
moiinl  lllirary  lo  his  fathiT.  Thos(>  lilmrrapldi-al  uun'sels  do  not,  seem-  fareliin  lo  this 
narrallve.  Its  tinlh  depends  nnieli  on  llio  venieily  and  Int'jiriiy  of  tiieso  Rontlemen, 
and  lliiir  possession  of  (lieso  (rails  is  alamdantly  shown  liy  ihe  positions  of  trust 
and    respoiisildllty   miiformly   hold    liy    llieni. 

lUl.     liaiison's  Tim  r.<ist   I'riiiee,   lilil. 

Ii;r,.  Hanson's  'fho  I,os(  Prineo,  'Jls.  The  l!ev.  Ilenjatnin  M.i,  ro.  n.  O.,  ni>hnp 
of  New  Vorl;.  and  the  Uev.  Ilr.  Montaln  of  Monireal  were  1  sp  ci.'illy  nn;ent  lli-it 
i;iea/er    shonld    .iuin     llie     i:piseopal    eoiinnmiloa,     pr.  nilsiiiK    evoiythltiK    "nd     anylhlm: 

i""'''i'l«    I' mpleiifin    of   his   ediieallon   and    llio    preparaiion    fur    iiilssi mnry   labor. 

Ai  lids  liiiir  Hi  .111.11  i'dv  w.is  dead  and  (ho  Conuroual  I.  nilisis  I'onnd  it  dKBnilt  (n 
provld.     fur    l'',iea/.i'i's    siippori.      l..iiiL'inendiiw    <'enteniilal    V'.VK    2.'!  i . 


156 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


tionalists  and  attracted  towards  the  Episcopalians  he  was  not  avcrst.- 
to  this  new  offer.  Indeed  he  is  said  actually  to  have  been  commis- 
sioned by  the  Jesuits  as  a  teacher  and  to  have  received  from  them  a 
good  church  library  with  prayer-books  and  missalsi^o— incongruous 
companions  for  his  collection  of  the  unprelatical  sermons  of  his  ances- 
tor, the  Rev.  John  Williams,  which  sermons  in  large  number  he  had 
brought  away  from  New  England  upon  his  various  trips,  to  be  used 
during  his  later  ministerial  peregrinations  as  his  own  effusions!'-' 

One  or  two  early  criticisms  upon  him  the  Storrs  letter  of  iHii 
cnnsiders:  "I  have  lieard  it  objected  to  Elcazer  that  he  appe;ircd 
tickle,  but  who  would  rationally  expect  that  an  Indian  would  at  once 
become  steady?  I  have  heard  it  said  that  he  was  assuming;  this  no 
one  will  think  strange  who  considers  how  much  he  has  been  llattered 
and  caressed  by  many  of  the  first  characters  in  New  England."'-^ 

Now  that  Eleazer's  life  in  New  England  has  ended  by  his  return 
to  Caughnawaga  it  may  not  be  improper  to  eu(iuirc  whore  the  income 
arose  for  all  this  private  tutoring  lor  the  young  student,  tbi-^  travel- 
ing hither  and  yon  about  the  United  States  and  Cattada.  W  liere, 
urge  Mr.  Hanson  and  J^lrs.  Evans,  save  from  some  mysterious  French 
men  who  were  supporting  this  exiled  Bourbon.'-"  Mr.  Hanson  ha> 
even  furnished  the  name  of  the  agent  who  acted  between  Thoma- 
Williams  and  the  French  purse,  and  has  given  his  authority  for  hi^ 
statement.!""  But  after  Eleazer  Williams'  death  this  somevvhat  per- 
plexing matter  straightened  itself  out.  His  papers  including  a  Joitr- 
luil  of  a  great  part  o:  his  life  and  copies  of  apparently  all  his  letter.-, 
filling  six  or  eight  cases,  catne,  in  or  about  1867.  into  the  possession 
oi  the  Rev.  Charles  V.  Rohert>on.  later  the  Kpiscopal  bislioi>  of  Mis- 
souri. .\m()ng  the  docunK'nts  found  Jind  iii-pectcd  by  Mr.  Robeitson 
were  the  original  bills  for  the  education  ol  V.\v:\yx'v  and  his  brother, 
together  with  evidence  ol  tln-ir  ))ayuieiU  by  the  mis.Moii.iry  societies 
of  .M.issachusetts.  whicli  expicted  that  these  Indian  youtiis  instructed 
at  their  expense  wouhl  lif  their  g.isi)el  lier.ild-^  among  tin-  dwellers 
of  the   Ion  St.      Both    tlir   l).'y<   were    wholly   rducateci   ;it    the  cli;irgt'   ol 


^vis 


Ijr,.     i:ilis-     Nrv.     VniK     ui.liiiiis.     Wis.     Ilivi.     r„ll.     11.     UN:     Kills'     ItrC.llrClloMs. 

Mlsl.  1-..1I.    VII.   2t:;       ;n   111.'  Inst    :n  I  irlc  il    is  situnl   llial    \vl, 'II  oil.'  oT   111'  ("iri^- 

„„iis   ,.r   'ir 1    r.ii.v    w.'is  il.viiic  in    ts^:'.    Ml-.    Willi, luis    •■ulhT.'.l    til.'    rolisnlii lions    ..f    tli.' 

cluii't'li  f(ir  tl,.  <lylnj:,  rcadliiK  In  I'-roii.'h  nn.l  I.;itin  fn'iii  thr  1(1.111:111  niiss.'il.'  .V 
notp,    idiKi'  '24^.      .M-.       iii't    WlUinnis   Mrvn-   h|."ii1,v    !1I  i.'Iii|.I".!    I"    l'':i'ii    .-i"    a    fallnll' 

priest," 

12T.     So     I     inl'i'i-    fi'.ilu     Kills'     I! .Il.'.l  i.'iis,     Wis       IlisI       i"ll,      \ll.     --'i;     Kili> 

Kipiizfr  wiiiiiiiiis.  Wis.  iiisi.  Cull,  viii,  :i::i. 

IliS.     KdiiKiiH  iidow   Ci'iiloniiliil,    i'Hi.    l.'.".!. 

lL".t.  llnnsoii'rt  Tlic  1/isl  I'l'lin  ,  lOii,  4To;  IlMnsiiii  s  Il.'ivi'  Wo  11  Itniii'l'iiii  .\nion'j; 
IsV  I'MliKiin  I.  lill-J;  Kviins'  Tli.-  Stor.v  (if  l/.iiis  XVII,  JO:  WililiT's  The  ll.mrl.nn  Who 
.N'cvii'  Itc'inni'il,   Iviih'Ucrlioc'krr.   lill.   417. 

1:10,     iiiiiisons    TIm'    lifwr    I'i'Ini'o,    lltn. 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


157 


these  benevolent  organizations.!''!  Moreover,  it  must  be  remembered 
tiiat  Thomas  Williams  was  not  poor  as  Indians  go.  At  any  rate,  just 
prior  to  the  war  of  1812  he  was  enjoying  an  annuity  and  an  estate 
which  even  with  his  large  family  would  have  permitted  him  to  con- 
tribute not  :i  little  towards  the  tuition  and  traveling  expenses  of  the 
lads,  or,  rather,  of  Kleazer,  for  the  younger  brother  did  not  continu- 
ously j)ursue  his  English  studies. '■'- 

.'\s  to  the  mysterious  inHow  of  French  money  it  is  sutilicient  to 
.say  that  there  was  none  and  no  agent  for  any,  for  the  entire  incident 
was  a  fabrication  which  Eleazer  i)almed  off  upon  the  public  through 
The  .  tlhiuiy  Knickerbocker.  To  this  newspaper,  under  a  fictitious 
signature.  Eleazer  sent  a  conmnmication  which  was  the  origin  of  all 
the  stories  concerning  foreign  contributions  for  his  maintenance'  and 
luition.  Mr.  Robertson  found  the  draft  or  a  copy  of  this  communica- 
tion in  Eleazer's  handwriting  among  his  effects.!-'-  The  assertion  of 
foreign  support  for  him  sprang  entirely  from'  his  imagination.  There 
were  not  a  few  cases,  some  of  which  will  disclose  themselves  later, 
where  incidents  favoring  Eleazer's  claim  to  be  the  dauphin  were  insin- 
u.ited  ui)(>n  the  public  through  newspaper  letters,  claiming  to  be 
written  by  jiersons  struck  by  pertinent  facts,  but  really  emanating 
ironi  the  fertile,  ingenious  .uid  mischievous  brain  of  Eleazer  Wil- 
liams.'-" Thi-^  circum-tance  pro\-e>i  that  Eleazer  was  not  inert  and 
sui)iiie  in  the  matter  of  iii>  diuphinship  as  his  clerical  supporters  so 
often  chorused,  but  w,is  cunningly  and  artfully,  yet  persistently,  push- 
ing his  fraud  upc^n  jjublic  attention.  So  ;derl  was  he  that  he  solicited 
his  iVientN  to  find  |)nblislKi-;  for  his  various  articles.  In  July.  (848. 
lie  wrote  .\lr.  1'".  Irving  of  New  Vnvk  thanking  him  for  his 
trouble  in  going  to  lialf-a-(|ozen  ollices  in  order  to  get  a  notice  oi'  the 
dauphin    primed.  '•"■•"' 

It  w;is  doubtless  in  aiiticip.-ition  of  permanent  occupation  as  in- 
structor of  lii>  fellow  Indians  that  Eleazer  prepared,  .ninl  iiublished  at 
lUirlin'.'ton.  \'erniont.  in  j.annary.  rXi,?.  ./  Irncl  on  iiuiii's  t^rimitlvc 
recliliiile.  his  foil  nini  his  reco^rry  tltrou^h  Jesus  Christ,  and,   in  -P  a'ts- 


*  1' 


I. 'It 

:ils,,    Mm 

iif   iMi;; 

.V(imii;cr  ■ 

at    l^iiiuri 

1. •!.•■, 

l.'il 

i,^isi  ..r 
1.",.- 

yiliili'i'V. 

lllffffCllcl 

I'liliiniii 


.     I!uliorisim'-i    Tlio    I.-ist    of    tlic    IlniirlKHi    Slmy.    I'liliianrs.    II    ii.    s.    !t,'!.      Sec 

lies'   I'rfloiiilii-    lu   ;i    'rhi'iJiic.    N'l  »    Vurk   Ti s,    l'i'liiiii\i-y    HI.    tSlMl 

.  'I'ho  Slorrs  lillri'  in  L!in;;nn':i(ln\v  (•cntciinliil,  S.'ll.  .«a.vs  tli.at  in  llio  winter 
I'lioniiis  an. I  iiis  wiU-  visili'il  I,iiimnii',i(lip\v  find  ri'pni'ti'd  tlinl  unless  tliry 
111-  iir  licilli  III'  'lie  huvs  Imnie  ilie  |ii'ies|  Hcmlil  cxeiinininnloiilp  tlicni.  TliP 
'.VMS  ilienriiii-  rriiirni'il  li>  ,'an!.'liniiu-.ij;,j.  Iiiil  .il'ler  ii  your  n  senieil  his  stmlies 
n.iiicuv.     'I'liis   lime   lie   ririiaiiied   i\nii'  yeiivs  iiiiil   reiiniinl   lo  Canada   fur  gDiid. 

Itnlierlsdn's  'I'lio  Last   of  llie   Kuni'lmn   Story.   T'ninaiii's.    II   n.   s    0."?. 
.     Iiraper's    .\ildilii.i,al    X.iles.    Wis.     Hist.    Coll.     \lll,    .•id";    nnlierlsun's    Tlip 
ilir'    liiMirliiiM    Siiir.v .    I'nlnani's    II.    n.    s.    !I7. 

Uulierisiin's  Tiie    l.asi    oi"    ilii'    Itdni'lion    Story,    rnttinin's    II.    n.    s.    07       I)e 
wridiiy:    in    Is."i;i.    s|„.;iKs   i.r    ilii'    spiritual    alisorptinn    of    MIeazer    and    Ids   in- 
>    to   liis   iduii    rnwk.    I'lMl    llie   aiiMior   ti.el    ^niy    llansun's    anlliiriiy    in    ;i!k    first 
Mlli.le,        .\utHl.iii-r.l|ihii'    Skel.'iM's.     .'its. 


158 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


w 


l,rir.r   in   tho   same    vcar,     /    shdlbig  book   in   the   hiuu>uigc   of  the  seven 
Iroqnois    vations.^--'''        But    it    he    comniculed    hinisclt    to    his    people 
as  an  auth.ir.  he  did  nnt  so  comiiRMul  liimself  as  an  a;4ent.     lunpou- 
ered    by    the    CauKhnawajias    in    1812    to    draw    from    the    state    01 
New  York  an  annnitv  of  two  lunidred  and  sixty-six  <U,llars  .hic  them 
upon  some  land  transfers,  he  received  this  sum  regularly  every  year 
from  181 '  until    i8jo;  but  not  one  cent  of  it  ever  reached  the  annui- 
tant.   In    i8_'o  bv   reason   ..f   representations    made  by   the    Canadian 
government    to    the    state    of    New    York    payment    to    the    un.a.thful 
steward   was   suspended.i''^      ()„   account  of  this   transaction   he   lost 
favor    and    inlluence    at    Cau«hnawaRa.      Perhaps    tins    mculent    help'^ 
to  explain   the  fact  that  when  a  half  century  later   lileazer  was   wrapt 
in  his  shrou.l  not  a  Mohawk  brave  attended  his  luneral.'-'- 

]-k-.zer  Williams  followed  his  father  into  the  American  army  in 
,81  ?   to  the  disappointment  and  grief  of  his  beneficent  patrons  in  New 
EnJland  '  -     Hv  invitation  he  joine.l  the  tro.,ps  ol  C.eneral  Hrown  un- 
der good  pav  \n  confidential  service,  collecting  through  the   Canada 
Indirns  important  information  of  the  movements  ot  the  Bntish  forces 
„d    therebv   in    several    in>tances    rendering   very   valuable    assistance 
to  the  Amn-ican   interests,'"'     For  this  service  as  wel    as    or  active 
.military   operations  he  received  the   connnendation   o,   '^^  "'";;- j- 
zeal    bravcrv  and  ficlelity."'     Eleazer's  own  accounts  ,,f  hi.  a.l  R^e- 
n uMU.   in   the  field   are   contained   in   his  Journan^^-  and   m   his   biog- 
raphy  of  his  father»^'-acc,,unts   which   are  so   tulsome   and   ^o   self- 
laudatorv  as  to  suggest  the  tlmuglu  that  no  historian  .,t  the  war  ot 
'St^   S  ^-operlv  Warded  the  laurel,   of  success.     In   the  biography 
he  author  calls  hhnself  "I-ieutenant   Colonel    Eleazer   W  ilhams.     and 
''Co  1.  el    1-.  ^Villian,s  .the   Superintendent  General)-^"--t.tles   which 
his  panegyrists   Mr.    Hanson  and   Mrs,    Evans  do  not   bestow,   titles 
Ihich  arc-not  accorded  him  by  the  representatives  o,  t^e  governm^ 
in    pa.sing   upcm    his   application    fur   a    pension.      Doubt  ess   hkc    th. 
;"  ,-y  nebtdous  appellation  of  Count   de   Lorraine  these  military  honor. 

were   ^c^lf-bestowed. 

In    the    land    battle    ,U    Platt^burg    September     14.     1814.    he    w,.^ 


I'M-         (■■.iMl,...,..'     ..r     til"     Wis.'nlisiM     Still.'      Ilish.VK'Ml     SfM-iolV.      V,     Hm!. 

:;  ■     ;  •;  KI....ZO,.  wmin,,..  w,.  .„..  ■■....  v,,  ;'f  ,  ''''"y^^;;;"'; -■" 


ins.     Until. Mill's    l-".loii/.cr    Williiiiiis.    _i 
1,T,1.     ('.ill. Ill's   T.inr,    I.    ni-t- 


14iV     Vllis-    N.'«     Y...U    Iii.liiiiis.    Wis.    Ili<l.    <'„11.    TI,    -lis, 

1.11       Ufii.ii-t    No.    •■i'»:i   "'■    l'"'"*''    roiniiiili...'   .Ill    MllitiiO    .\fT:iiis.    . 


l!,llll     ..r     l.',!.'!!--^!- 


Winiiiiiis,   .-i.-.tli   ('.inpri'.'ss,    Fii.i    S.Rsl.n,    ,\pr 
Ifi.     Hi.ns.m's   Til,:    1-..-1     I'rlii.''^.    -^"■ 
Willliiiiis'    'r.'-h.i-ru-cwil-lir-p:  ti,    Oi; 


I    IT,    isr.s. 


1 1;; 


I  II       Willliinis'    -r,.  iHi  rii-i!\vit-lif'-S'ti- 


Ci;     TS,    M,    8.S, 


m 


HIS  FORERUNXERS,  HIMSELF. 


].■)!• 


wouiuled  i)y  a  splinter  in  tlic  left  side,"'  "slightly  w.mnded",  as  he 
states  in  one  place;"''  "a  severe  wonnd"  as  he  swears  in  his  applica- 
tion for  a  pension;  "not  to  that  degree  as  to  compel  n:e  to  leave  the 
corps,"  as  he  states  in  his  /(;;/;■;;<;/."•  His  lather's  nnrsing  and 
Indian  remedies  restored  him  to  health  and  strength  after  some  week>' 
confinement.'"*  The  scar  which  this  injury  left  is  useful  to  this  nar- 
rative in  two  ways:  Many  years  later  he  i.-xhihited  it  U>  Ur.  S.  W. 
Williams  to  obtain  that  physician's  professional  opinion  as  to  whether 
such  a  wound  would  entitle  to  a  pension,  and  thus  allowed  Dr.  Wil 
liams  to  discover  that  the  unexposed  skin  of  Elcazer  was  more  the 
color  of  an  Indian  than  of  a  white  man.""*  The  scar  was  carried,  in  a 
memorial  for  a  pension,  to  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  and  tin- 
report  of  the  Coimnittee  on  Pensions  of  that  body  apparently  dis- 
closes that  either  the  wound  or  the  military  service  or  both  could  nor 
endure  the  rigid  scrutiny  of  men  charged  with  the  duty  of  placing 
only  the  truly  deserving  and  the  really  disabled  upon  the  /oil  of  gov- 
ernment dependents.    The  report  on  the  Memorial  was  as  follows:'-" 

The  memorialist  sets  forth  that  he  was  engagea  at  sumlry  times  on  tho  Nnrth<Tii 
fi-oiitlor  of  Xew  York  (luring  tlie  lust  war  with  EiiKlaml  in  rciider'm;  iiiiprrlanr  scrw 
Iros  to  the  poimiiamliiiK  oflloM-s  on  that  frontier,  l).v  whom  iio  wiis  omph  ye.l  .mil  ilic 
evldenro  hofore   tlie   conimilt.c   ^liows   that   tlic    mcmoriali.^t    was   .  f;en   at    tlie    1 1  h1- 

qnarters  of  said  officers  and   < innnl<ntinj;   with  thom.      Ho  als.i   stales   tlnit   he   w- 

ei'ived  a  severe  wonnd  at  the  liattle  of  I'lallstmrp.  The  oimmiitlee  liowi  ver  are  not 
fnrnlslied  with  an.v  proof  as  to  the  valne  or  amount  of  ^ervlio  rendered,  nor  of  lis 
iiatnre,  nor  of  the  degree  of  disalillity  oeeaslom  d  by  the  wound  reeelved  ly  llie  ni-- 
niorialist.  neltlier  can  lliey  ascertain  liy  any  papers  In  their  p.ssessiun  in  wli.it  e.i- 
paeity  lie  was  engaged  wlieii  lie  received  said  wiiurd  nor  the  anmunt  iia'd  lilm  f.ir 
the  service  which  he  rendered.  I'nder  tlio  circumslaiiees  the  cnnimltlec  ask  ti>  h' 
dlscliargcd   from  further  consUh'ration  of  said   Menim-lal. 

Upon  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812  Thomas  with  his  s.,ldier  sons. 
cxi)atriated  from  Caughnawag:i,  joined  his  family  at  St.  Regis.'"'' 
Tiiis  Indian  village,  bisected  by  the  present  Ixuimiary  between  Xew 
York  and  Canada,  w;is  founded  as  a  Catholic  mission  abom  1754  .-mil 
ever  since  then  has  been  the  home  of  a  resident  missionary  of  that 
church.  John  and  Zechariah  Tarbell,  captured  when  kuN  at  Groton. 
Massachusetts,  became  Caughnawaga  chiefs,  and  it  wa-  one  of  the>e 
who  established   the  sanctuary  at    St.   Regis.''- 


Ul 


14.1.     Kills'    .\,«-   York   Indians.    Wis.    Hist.    C'tll.    II,    IIS. 

Hfi.     Williams'    Te-ho-ra-«wa  iie-gen.    79. 

147.     Hanson's    The    I/ist    I'rilice,    2Gfl. 

14.S.     Hanson's   The    Ixist    Prince,    209. 

149.     Williams'    llededueil    Capilve,    17.T. 

ir)0.     Senate   Iteport,    No.   .Til.   lUst   dngiess.    Scconil   .sessi,,:i.       11,0   r-poit.   datcl 
I'cliiiiary  L'O,    IS.'il,   was  made  liy   Sciaior  ,Tolin  1".    Hale.  ' 

l.^il.     Kills'   New   York    Indians,    Wis.    Illsf.    Coll.    11.    Us. 

l.M.'.  Sec  Nnte  7i>  stii'in:  r.Miiiiiiiiel,  V.illcy  Mcnoiiiil  .\ss.iei:i  1  i  m.  \', 
471.  Kor  a  dcscripi  i.in  i.r  ilie  vU'.iuc  rcail  Oa  ('.  sla's  SI  ny  <il'  SI  l!cL'i<'-  i;< 
axy.     1S70,     \2i. 


iinic 
II.   t; 


'I 


160 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


Eleazcr  however,  was  too  restive  and  too  ambitious  to  remain 
long  in  tliis  seclusion.  Besides,  he  believed  himself  out  of  caste  at 
St  Regis  for  the  determination  which  he  finally  reached  to  abandon 
the  church  in  favor  there.-'^-  Quitting  alike  the  Cathohc  fa.  h  .n 
which  he  was  born,  and  the  Congregatio.ial  faith  ,n  which  he 
dbeen  reared  and  whose  societies  had  lavished  money 
upon  his  education,  he  went  to  New  York  where  in  St.  J"l"vs  Lp.s- 
oopaJ  Church  he  was  confirmed  by  Bishop   Hobart,  May  21    1815.  ' 

In  the  preceding  November  Eleazer  had  visited  at  Oneida  Castle, 
renewing  acquaintances  he  had  previously  made  with  some  Iroquois 
"the  Oneida  tribe..---'  Being  satisfied  that  these  bands  were  more 
„K-iined  to  Christianity  and  civilization  than  any  other  division  ol 
the  Six  Nations  he  enlisted  the  sympathy  and  services  <.t  Bishop 
Hobiirt  with  a  view  to  a  mission  at  the  Castle  -•"  Having  prepared 
.  Book  of  l^raycrs  for  families  and  for  parUcular  Persons  selected 
from  the  book  of  common  prayer,  in  the  language  of  the  S,x  Na- 
uons.  which  was  published  at  .Ml>any  in  1S.6..-  and  being  armed 
with  a  letter  from  Bi.h..i.  Hobart,  Eleaxcr  on  March  23  iHi6.-  was 
again   at   Oneida    Ca>tle.   a>  a   religious   teacher,   lay  reader   an.l   cate- 

'"'ne  bad  good  (lualit.e.   lur  evangelizing  work  among  the  aborig- 
ines.    He  had  beconu.  tolerably  verged  in  the  Christian  sy.stem  and  in 
theologv;  moreover,  ho  was  a  natural  orator,  a  grace.ul  and  power lul 
.neakc-r-most   invalu.ible   ai.ls   to   persuasion   and   success   among  the 
Indians.1^.0      Had    he    been    cntent.    in    the    bumble    avocations    ot    a 
.chool-master  and   an   evangeli.t.    fanhmlly  to   pursue   m    sequestered 
val^s  the  noisele..  tenouv  of  h.   way.  he   wotd.l   belike  have  rounded 
nut    for   himself   a   u.eu.l    and   bon-mrable    career.        nstead.    howeve. 
by  neglecting  tl,e>e  pursuits,  by   >tretchmg  out   b.s  hand  toward  vast 
.nipire  in  the  west  and  by  indulging  inane  delusion,  concerning  vaster 
eml.ire  in  the  east,  he  wrecke.l  hi.  li.e.  he  left  at  In.  death  a  Miadowed. 
not  to  sav  a  disln  mi  .red,  name. 

Vuother  .lualifK-at.on  u."  >..u-ce..  anu.ng  the  I.uban.-  wa-  h  > 
,h.,vough  mastery  .,f  tlie  Innpiois  vocabulary.  l<^f^'-^"^^ '''';  .''^f !  ^ 
iKvn    ma.ie   to  bis   author>hip    in    that    tongue.      Tn    iS.o   m    Itua    he 


))riniecl   .'inotlu'r    >pei! 


iin 


WilUiiins'  T(-li<i-iii-fi«:Mii 
Hnnsnn's  Ttio  Ij<)«I  I'liim 
H.lii.snn's  Tlio  Ijfist  ri'iiut 
F.lll.«'    N<'"'    V.irlc    Inilirtiis 


L.'!  n. 
•J7I. 
2T0. 
Wis.    Hist 


r\.v   lh>ok   of   prayers   ju-t   alluded 

,    iirnl    Ilouiili's    rot.'. 


r,,ll.    II.    lis. 


1,-.,1. 

ir.i 
i.-r>. 

1,-.T.    f'litiilHjnio   M 
visc.l    this    l'rny'>r'l«.iil. 

l.-,s      lli,ns„n--  Tl...   I..SI    ITiiir,..   -7.;;   riniMiMi,  .Minul.    l.Oun.u.s 

r.O      Kills'    .\>w   Yolk    Iililililis.    Wl.-.    Hist.    OH.    II.    ^V.K 

WX     CalMnu-n,.  of  tho   Wisr„„sln   Shiu-  His'orlml   Snplol.v,  V.  ufUl 


,1„.  Wismnsin    sn.lo   IllsloHoal   Sooirty.    V,   5.10.      Klra/or   ro- 
i„    IS.-.;!.      Vi„t.,n-s    I.M.ls    .WII.    an,l    El.-.vor   WUiams,    riit- 

IMT. 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


ItJl 


to  was  simply  a  revision  of  the  first  part  of  the  Episcopal  prayer-book 
which  Joseph  Brant,  he  of  Wyoming  massacre  fame,  had  previously 
translated'"!  and  which  was  published  in  London  in  1787.1''-  But  Eleazer 
Williams  greatly  improved  upon  Joseph  Brant  in  scientific  manipula- 
tion of  the  letters,  for  while  the  latter  employed  twenty  English  char- 
acters Eleazer  confined  himself  to  eleven.'"''  This  reduction  simplified 
the  orthography  and  assisted  the  child  in  learning  to  read — an  inven- 
tion which  while  of  lasting  utility  to  the  Indians  arose  in  judgmeiil 
against  the  di.scoverer.  as  the  sequel   may  show. 

Possessing  the  (lualifications  just  alluded  to,  it  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at  that  his  labors  were  at  first  successful.  Beginning  with  that 
small  portion  of  the  Oneidas  who  had  already  become  favoral)le  to 
Christianity  through  the  labors  of  Occam.  Kirkland  and  Jenkins,  and 
who  became  known  as  the  first  Christian  party,  these  he  attached 
to  himself  by  his  persuasive  and  attractive  manners.  The  majority — 
nearly  three-fifths  of  the  tribe — he  attacked  with  sternness  and  author- 
ity. The  result  was  an  abjuration  of  paganism  and  an  acceptance  ni 
Christianity. 1"^  Indeed,  this  Pagan  party,  to  be  known  thereafter  as 
the  second  Christian  party,  addressed  to  the  governor  of  New  York 
a  formal  renunciation  of  their  heathen  beliefs  and  practices. i"''  Nay. 
more,  they  waited  upon  him  in  person  in  the  winter  of  1817  and  treated 
with  him  for  a  cession  of  a  portion  of  their  reservation  for  the  building 
of  a  church  and  for  providing  for  ministerial  support.  The  edifice  was 
built  and  Eleazer  although  not  then  ordained  entered  it  as  minister.'"" 

In  November,  iSiq, '""  begjin  the  accpiaintance  between  Eleazer 
Williams  and  All)ert  (i.  Ellis,  which  materially  influenced  the  career 
of  the  latter  and  wliich  enables  lis  to  know  minutely  the  career  of  the 
former.  Mr.  Ellis  was  born  in  \'erona,  three  miles  from  Oneida, 
August  24,  1800,  and  was  therefore  somewhat  younger  than  Eleazer. 
At  his  urgent  solicitation  young  Ellis  took  up  his  abode  at  the  Castle 
in  November,   r8iQ,  with  the  understanding  that  he  was  to  teach  the 


K 


nil.     Kavid.sDii's    III    riiiiiiincil    Wisidn.sin.    tW. 

1<",2.     ("atiilr)j;uc    of    tlic    Wisconsin    Stnti'    Hist. irii  ill    Snoiily,    V,    78. 

nn.     Kills'    KloiiZfi-    Wllliiims,    Wis.    Illst.    foil.    VIIT.    .^.^0. 

1(14.     navldsou'R  III   riiiiiinii'il   Wiscniisln,   (W?;    Kills'    Klc.izcr  Willliiiiis.    Wis.    Hist 
('<tll.    Vni,  .'!25;    Hauitiioncrs   Madlsoti   ('ount.v,    112. 

105.  Tho  roniiiii'l;itioii.  wlilcii  Is  iliitoil  .Tiitiitiiry  2.".  Isl".  is  .sot  mit  at  toiisHi  in 
Wllliiiius'  Two  Hdiiilllcs.    .\ii|icii(ll.\-.   p.    I'.t. 

nil!.  Kills'  Now  Yofk  li.<liiiiis.  Wis.  Illst.  (  ull.  II.  t2t).  In  181S  RIsli.ip  H- 
liiirt  idiitlitiiod  a  cliiss  of  oit'litv-iiliio  poisons,  iiisliiictpil  iiml  in-,  s  niod  hy  K  e  zer 
Wlllliiiiis.      Morolinuso's   Sonio    Amoriciiii    Cluinliiiioii.   44. 

ll!T.  1  li.ivi-  iidoplod  Diapor's  yi'.if.  ISlll.  iliiliiidiirt  ion  to  Kills'  Firty-fonr 
yrars'  Uocolloctlmis,  Wis.  Hist.  ('(ill.  VII,  2(I7-2I1.S|  itistoiid  of  1,S20  as  itiveii  by  Mr 
Rills  liliiiscir  in  Wis,  Hist,  <i)ll,  VIH,  .•!22,  Tlio  onrllor  dale  Is  no  e  .'onslst  nt  with 
other  facts  and  with  ■itlior  statoiuonts  of  Mr.  Kills.  Said  Intr.idnotion  kIvcs  a 
Hketch  of  Mr.  Ellis.  Ho  rcalilod  in  Wisionsin  inure  than  halt  a  oi  ntiiry,  hold  many 
offlpes  of  trnst   iind  rospoiisllilllly   mid  was  a  man  oi'  nninip 'ai'hiiblo   inl^gril.v. 


ELEAZER   WILLIAMS. 


p    *. 


Indian  cliiklren  nnd  be  a  companion  for  Elcazcr,  and  in  return  was  to 
receive  from  the  latter  instruction  in  Latin,  Greek  and  Frencii.     Upon 
removing  to  the  Castle  he  found  Kleazer  residiiiR  in   the  homestead 
of  the  sometime  deceased  head  chief  of  the  Oncidas,  Skanandoah,  to 
which  liomestead  Eleazer  had  made  an  addition  for  school  purposes. 
But  youuK  Kllis  soon  discovered  that  instead  of  imparting  knowledge 
to  Oneida  pappooses  he  was  expected  to  have   Eleazer  Williams   for 
a  scliolar.  and  that  the  sole   purpose  of  hrinRiuK  him  to   the   Castle 
was   that   he   miRht  teach   Eleazer  Williams   to   read,   pronounce   and 
write  the  luiylish  lanKuage.     For  owing  either  to  facile  forgetfulnes? 
or  to  the  superficiality  of  his  New  England  training  Eleazer,  although 
he  could  understand  common  conversation,   could .  neither   speak  nor 
write  the  simplest  sentences  with  accuracy.     Cases,  moods  and  tenses 
were  to  him  an  unknown  land.     To  the  last  of  Mr.    Ellis'   intimacy 
with  Eleazer  (which  extended  until  long  after  their  removal  to  Green 
Bay)  the  latter  could  not  write  five  lines  of  English  decently.     The 
framing  of  his  letters,  the  recasting  of  ihc  old  sermons,  the  prepara 
tion   of   his    documents,    the    correcting   of   his   journals    fell    to    his 
successive  secretaries.     As  to  other  languages,  the  only  tongue  which 
he    spoke   to   perfection    was   the    Iroquois— strong   evidence   that    he 
sprang  from  the  Caughnawaga  forests  and  not  from  the  Chateau  St. 
Cloud.     Greek  was  an   utter  stranger  to  him;  with   Latin   he  had   a 
distant    bowing    acciuaintance— such    an    acquaintance    as    his    prayer- 
books  and  missals  might  impart.     As  to  French  he  could  read  nar- 
rative and  history  quite  well,  but  he  could  not  speak  a   smgle  woi-d 
respectablv.     His  French  wife,  of  whom  anon,  more   than  once   said 
to  him.   "Xow.   Mr.   Williams,   I   do  beg  of  you  never   to  try   to   lalk 
French.  vou  cannot  speak  a  single  word  right."     His  FnMich  pr,,mm- 
ciation   was   such   as   ignorant   Indians  on   the   edge   ot   Canada    might 
aciuirc.  but  nr.thing  more  and  that  poorly."'^     And  yet  we  are  called 
upon  to  believe  that  this  Gallic  stnmblcr  was  reared  in  the  very  cc  nter 
of  pure   rarisi;iii-that   hi^   infant   lip-   were   instructed  by   ^bnie    An 
toinette   that  he  was  the  bmther  <.{  .Mndame  d'  Angotileme,  the  pupil 
of  the  duchess  of  Polignac  and  the  ablie    Devaux!     Sem -idiocy   f  .r 
a  half-score  years  could  never  have  reduced  the  genuine  daupiim   lo 
such   lingual   imbecility. 

The  statements  just  m.idc  as  to  Eleazer's  lamibarity  with  the 
English  language  mu>t  l)e  remembered  in  perusin-  his  journals 
from  which  :\Ir.  Han>r,n  quotes  so  copiously.  These  journaL 
are  not  fresh  from  the  desk  of  the  autobiograplur.  (Mhcv  pens  than 
liis  must  have  arranged  the  orderly  consecution  of  sentences,  must  have 
made  numbers  and.  persons,  iiummIs  and  lenses  cnn.-ordaiil.  must  have 


ltl8.     Kills' 


y.\i-:v/.'V    UiliiMiiis.    \Ni-.    511-1. 


\  1 1 1 . 


;i.   3U.    Mh 


HI  a  FUliEUrXNKRS,  HIMSELF. 


IC't 


mipiirtiMl  a  faultless  ortlioj<rai)liy— certainly  these  necessities  were  he- 
yoiul  Kleazer's  powers,  although  the  ideas  were  doubtless  his. 

But  if  young  Ellis  was  not  at  the  Castle  lor  the  purposes  of 
teaching  the  Oneida  children  (and  during  the  four  years  of  his  stay 
tiiere  he  was  not  once  called  upon  to  teach  them  letters)  to  what 
uses  was  put  the  school-room  addition  to  the  Skanandoah  m;;:ision? 
To  hase  uses.  Upon  every  Thursday  afternoon,  the  Indian.s  who 
would  attend— young  men,  young  women  and  aged  persons— were 
assembled  in  this  room  and  treated  to  a  discourse  by  Eleazer--not  to 
a  variation  of  one  of  his  ancestor's  sermons,  but  to  self-glorifiction. 
These  talks  were  devoted  almost  entirely  to  himself,  to  his  birth  and 
childhood  at  Caughnawaga,  to  his  infantile  precocity,  to  his  always 
victorious  strifes  with  his  playmates,  to  his  white  ancestors  of  the 
Williams  family,  to  his  nomadic  exploits  with  his  f.ather  at  Lake 
(leorge,  to  any  marvelous  feat  of  his  forest  life  which  would  prove 
to  his  untutored  listeners  how  mighty  a  hunter,  how  great  a  man, 
lie  uas.i"'»  This  man  of  reminiscences,  however,  is  the  same  one  who 
in  1S51  told  Mr.  Hanson,  "[  know  nothing  about  my  infancy.  Every- 
thing that  occurred  to  me  is  Itlotted  out.  entirely  erased,  irrecoverably 
gone.     My  mind  is  a  blank  until  thirteen  or  foureen  years  of  age.""" 

This  little  incident  has  its  large  significance.  Tf  it  be  true,  as  Mr. 
Hanson  gravely  narrates'"' — and  Mrs,  l-'vans.  of  course,  too."- — 
thai  Eleazer,  the  disguised  dauphin,  between  the  period  of  his  adop- 
tion by  Thomas  Williams  at  ten  years  of  age  and  his  removal  to 
Longnieadow.  had  a  fall  into  the  limpid  flood  of  Lake  George,  by 
which  a  deep  gash  was  cut  in  his  head  and  as  a  result  of  which  distinct 
recollection  began  after  a  period  of  imbecility  and  mental  unsound- 
ness, how  happens  it  that  in  these  discourses  to  the  Oneida  aborig- 
ines whose  brains  he  was  .filling  with  his  own  niagnihcent  proportions, 
his  memory  reverted,  not  to  the  gorgeous  halls  of  the  Tuileries,  not 
to  the  gay  avenues  of  rollicking  Paris,  not  to  the  sombre  seclusion  of 
the  dreadful  Temple,  not  to  the  long  line  of  his  royal  sires  stretching 
to  Hugli  Capet,  but  to  the  leafy  retreats  of  Caughnawaga,  to  his  In- 
dian jdaymates  in  those  woody  shades,  to  himting  and  tr;tp[iing  and 
fishing  at  Lake  George,  to  his  austere  strain  of  pale  faced  ai  (.e^tors  in 
Deertield   .iiid    Roxbury? 

While  I'^lea/er  was  thus  exalting  his  ancestors,  one  of  thcni  paid 
liini  a  \isit.  Twice  Thomas  Williams  traveled  to  the  Castle  I0  visit 
his  son  and  there  young  Flllis  nia<k'  his  ac(iuaintance.  He  noticed, 
and   iiKiin    other';   noticed,    liow    iiuicli    the    --oil    favored   the    fnther,      Ti 


li;'.i.      I'.llis'    l':irii/.ci'   Williiini>.    Wi-.    lli-l.    I'nlL    \lll 
ITi>.     Iliiiison's  'J'lio   I/)st  Prince,   ,'io!>. 
171.     llnnsmi's  Tlie  Txist   I'rliiec,   1S;i. 


164 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


the  son  was  Bourl,(,nic-an(l  no  one  denies  tliat  his  appearance  cspe 
cially  in  youth,  strongly  suggested  the  French' ^^'-tlien  was  h.s  fa- 
ther Bourhonic  also,  for  the  latter  had  the  peculiar  cast  of  countenance 
stronger  than  the  son.''»  De  Loriniier  the  head  chiet  of  the  Ciiugh- 
nawagas  in  i8si  had  the  same  features  in  a  high  <legree;  so  also  had 
Grand  Baptiste.  the  Lachine  pilot:  so  also  had  another  half-l.ree.l. 
Francis  Mount,  a  Rice  relative  of  F.leazer.  Indeed  these  -Bourbon 
facial  characteristics  wore  common  to  all  the  Caughnawagas  descended 
from  white  ancestors.  De  Lorimier  exhibited  to  Dr.  Williams  at  the 
investigation  several  members  of  the  tribe  who  had  the  peculiar  or 
Bourbon  features.' '■'•  This  infantile  resemblance,  real  <.r  fancied,  to 
Louis  XVII  to  which  the  attention  of  his  mother  and  himself  was 
called  in  his  childhood  by  passing  soldiers'""  doubtless  started  the 
busy  and  wilv  mind  of  the  adult  Kleazer  upon  that  scheme  ot  per- 
sonation and"decepti..n  which  a  half-century  of  explanation  has  not. 
it  appears,  completely  exposed.'" 

Yet  l-leazer  did  not  lack  traces  of  his  swarthy  l)irth.  Ilis  skin 
was  dark  and  of  peculiar  Indian  texture.  His  hair,  eye-brows  and 
eye-lashes  were  of  the  most  inky  raven  blackness.'"^  His  complexion 
and  hair  stamped  him  a>  of  mixed  savage  and  civilized  bloo.l;  nuleed. 
one  connoisseur  writes  that  I'leazer  had  that  peculiar  tint  which  dis 
tinguished  half-breeds  among  the  Six  Nations  from  half-breeds  in  die 
west  '-«  His  dark  comi)lexion.  so  opposite  fr.mi  the  blonde  features  m 
Louis  XVH.'^»  was  noticed  by  .Mrs.  Kinzie  in  1830.  who  had  she  noi 
heard  his  Connecticut  relatives  so  often  call  him  thnr  Indian  cuumu 
might  have  thought  him  a   Mexican  or  a  Spaniard.'^' 

Nor  did  he  lack  decidcl  evi.lence  of  his  Williams  ancestry.  1  he 
frontispiece  portrait  in  Tlw  lost  I'rimr  shnws  many  WMliams  feat- 
ures \  letter  in  mv  possession  from  Kdwavd  H.  Williams,  jr.,  t... 
technical  for  insertion  and  re.|uiring  ill.istral...n>  for  its  elucidation. 
shows  these  resemblances  in  a  cnnvincing  manner. i^- 

17.T    UobprtSMn-s    TI,o    Last    of    ih.     lionH.on     Story.     IMU.uMn,     "•.."•/;•     -'f; 

Vmt.m-s  I.mis  XVII.  .n-l   Kl,.,/...!-  Will s,    I'HtnM.ns.   11,  .,,   <.  aXl:   !■    a' ■  m    .  .M   N.  « 

York.    ICmIi.:    IvIII.h's   Kiisy  Clmir.    Ihinns.   .Imic    l^s:;.    UN. 

174.     Kills'    Kl.MZcr    WllUmns.    Wis.    Hist.    c:..l..    VIII.    'MS. 

1-5.     lA'ltcrs.    April    <1.    1.'..    1S!>H.    Irutii    KdwanI    II.     Williams.    ,ii-. 

t7(i.     Novllle's  (!r.';.n    Hay.   SSV.    IhinioMUs   Kl.-a/.-r   Williams.    'J..... 

177.  I'arkmairs   Ilnlf-Ci'iiliiry   or  Coiilliit.    I.   ■s.s. 

178.  Ellis'    Klonzor  Williams.    Wis,    Ilisl,    Cull     VllI,    ."il.S, 

179.  Trowbridsifs  F.loazoi-  Williams,    AVis.    Illsl.   <„li.    VII.    114, 

180.  Bcnnc!  osno's  li-juls   XVII.,   20,  ,  ,■   , 
1S1      Kln/.l-'s   Waul.mi.    52.      Kln./,.T    lia.l    Hi.'    liHiiaM    liai.il    ,.r    t.Miiitr    iM,    wuH. 

When   Krown   he    trio.l    In  vain    to  ovo, ,„  .      Lit...-.    M..y   2,    IS'Mi     from    '■;<'«"f'l   "' 

Wmiams.    .jr.       Ills    .ars    also    lM..n,,v,,i    him,       Ilull-.-s    S„  ry    of      ^""^  ^    \'  '     l^,' 
Nation.   May  :!1.    isul,  417;   Sh-a   -m   Kioaz-r   Williams.    .\m',    Ilisl.    U.-or.l.   .Ml.v    IS.-. 

naeo  ^t(Kt 

l.s-j'     I.,.t(.r     Mav    S.    ISOC.    fiom    K.lawnl    II,    Williams,    .ir.      Tho    fruntisim- 

fhiB   paper    Is   a   half  lonr    trom    ,■.    plimo^;,a f  an    ..11    pnintins    of   Elcaz-.r    Will-au. 


HIS  FORl^:Iir^'NKRS,  HIMSELF. 


IW 


Notwithstanding  the  success  which  attended  Eleazer's  early  evan- 
gelizing efforts  at  the  Castle  incidents  were  happening  which  fretted 
him,  alienated  his  friends  and  impaired  his  usefulness.  Indeed,  the 
same  dishonest  traits  which  weakened  his  hold  upon  the  Canadian 
Indians  began  to  display  themselves.  An  instance  must  be  given: 
Mention  has  been  made  of  the  little  church  which  the  (Jneidas  were 
to  build  from  the  avails  of  the  transfer  of  a  portion  of  their  reserva- 
tion to  the  governor  of  New  York.  These  avails,  four  thousand  dol- 
lars, were  intrusted  to  two  gentlemen  in  Utica  who  having  implicit 
confidence  in  Eleazer  committed  them  to  him.  The  building  was  com- 
pleted at  a  cost  not  exceeding  fourteen  hundred  dollars,  but  the  bal- 
ance was  never  repaid  nor  could  the  trustees  ever  bring  Eleazer  to 
adjust  his  accounts.' ^'^ 

More  than  this,  he  was  constantly  in  trouble  with  the  white  resi- 
dents at  Oneida  Castle  who,  rendering  to  him  their  bills  for  services 
performed  or  merchandise  delivered,  invariably  found  their  claims  con- 
tested and  payment  procrastinated.  Thus  his  reputation  began  to 
darken,  his  influence  to  wane,  among  his  white  neighbors  and  his 
Indian  tlock.'^* 

But  in  spite  of  these  domestic  troul)les  Eleazer  during  his  itay  at 
the  Castle  began  to  be  widely  known  as  an  authority  on  matters  iier- 
taining  to  the  Indians.  From  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Hartford, 
Boston,  letters  were  addressed  to  him  enquiring  about  labors  of  mis- 
sionaries among  the  Indians;  the  travels  and  discoveries  of  La  Sdlc, 
Hennepin,  Marquette;  early  conflicts  of  the  red  man  with  New  Eng- 
land settlements  and  topics  pf  kindred  nature.  The  Rev.  Samuel  F. 
Jarvis,  1).  D.,  Colonel  Elihu  Hoyt,  Franklin  B.  Hough  and  Mrs. 
Lydia  Huntley  Sigourney,  among  others,  sought  his  experience, 
knowleilge  and  study  concerning  Indian  history,  manners  and  tradi- 
tions.'"*''  Wi  there  is  grave  reason  to  fear,  in  the  cases  of  two,  at  least, 
of  these  eiuiuirers,  that  I'llea^er  Williams  wilfully  deceived  them  con- 
cerning the  massacre  at  Ueertielil.  ]Cpei)hras  Hoyt  publisiied  h's 
meritorious  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Greenfield,  Massachusetts, 
in  i8_'4.  While  he  was  preparing  bis  chapter  relative  to  de  Rouville  s 
raid,  the  author's  brother.  Colonel  Elihu  Hoyt,  conversed  with  Eleazer 
and  learned  -^onie  quite  new  matters  concerning  the  morning  of  Fei)- 
ruary  29,  1704.  He  discovered,  for  instance,  that  Eleazer  on  a 
recent  vist  to  Canada,  had  found  a  silk  overdress  which  Mrs.  Eunice 
Williams   wore   that   fateful    morning   when   the   Indians   hurried    hi  r 


executed  nl)i>\it   18;i3  by   George  Catlln  and  now  owned   by  tho   Wlsonnsln   Stato  His- 
torlcnl  Sodt^ty. 

IS,"?.    Kills'   Kleazcr  Wllllam.s,  Wis.   Hist.  Coll.   VIII,  .IM. 

184.    Ellis'  ElenziT  Williams,  Wis.  Htst.  Coll.  Vtll,  32.");  .  oniparo  WUlianis'  Te 
lio-ra-gwane-KPn,    Honcli's  Introdnrllon,   iiafii'  0. 

IS,'),     Holiertsnn's  Tlio  U\st  of  the  Honrlion  Stnry    Putnam's.  11.  n    s.  ".14. 


l()G 


ELEAZFAt  WILLIAMS. 


ofif  directly  after  the  sacking  (if  the  village.  But  it  is  exceedingly  im- 
probable that  Mrs.  Williams  stopped  to  don  her  party  gown  on  that 
massacre  morning,  while  it  is  a  fact  that  she  was  tomahawked  one 
day's  march  out  of  Deeriield  and  her  body  left,  unplundered,  as  it 
fell,  by  retreating  savages.  Likewise,  Eleazer  told  Colonel  lloyt  thit 
returning  commanders  of  expeditions  were  required  to  deposit  in  one 
of  the  principal  convents  in  Canada  copies  of  the  journals  of  their  ex- 
peditions, and  that  he.  Kleazer.  had  found  in  a  convent  in  Can;ida  a 
copy  of  de  Rouville's  journal  of  his  raid  upon  Deerfield.  Hut.  no 
such  deposit  of  these  documents  in  convents  was  ever  re(|uired.  no  such 
documents  were  ever  so  deposited  and  no  eye  save  Eleazer's  sot  n.s 
ever  to  have  seen  do  Rouville's  journal.  Still  again,  Eleazer  related 
to  Colonel  Hoyt  and  to  others  that  when  Deerfield  was  destroyed  th.' 
Indians  removed  the  church  hell,  conveyed  it  as  far  as  Lake  Champlain 
and  buried  it  there;  that  later  it  was  dug  up.  conveyed  to  Canada 
and  hung  in  the  Indian  church  at  St.  Regis.  Rut  apart  from  the  oir- 
cumst.uice  that  St.  Regis  was  not  established  until  half  a  century 
after  Deeriield  was  raided,  the  Deerfield  church  had  no  bell.^**"  The 
practising  of  this  unposition  upon  ^^rs.  Sigourney  has  given  the 
world  The  hell  of  St.  Re^is.'"''  Mr.  Hough,  who.  however,  perched 
the  Deerfield  iiell  in  the  Caughnawaga  steeple,  seems  to  have  printed 
the  .s;<mc  story  without  sufficient  investigation. 'S"*  and  Mr.  Longfellow 
has  accepted  it  without  (|uestion."^"  Somewhat  later,  about  1850. 
Eleazer  attempted  a  fraud  upon  the  state  of  New  York.  He  offered 
to  sell  to  the  secretary  of  state  .Marcpictte's  Journal  and  his  oriL'.inal 
map  wliich  I'Lleazer  claimed  to  have  found  in  the  ruins  of  the  Caughna- 
waga church.!'"'  But  the  Caughnawaga  church  was  never  in  ruins  ami 
the  original  Marquette  Journal  ami  map  were.  ;it  tie  time  FJeazer 
olTered  to  sell  ihem.  one  of  the  chief  jewels  of  St.  Mary's  College, 
.MoiUreal,  as  they  are  to  this  day.'"' 

.\  circumstance  wliich  contributed  to  the  wide  reputation  oi 
i'.leazer  Williams  as  an  Indianologist  was  the  scheme  which  he  either 
originated  or  actively  advanced  for  an  emigration  of  New  York  red 
men  to  the  regions  west  of  Lake  Michigan  and  the  foundation  of  an 
Indian    empire   there   over   which    he   should    reign.      With    whom    the 


IMi.  ll..,M's  .Miliqunriaii  l!<.sciiivli,  ,s,  IJi.'t:  U.';;isli'f  XXVIII.  U.S7;  I'r.ico 'ilinns  of 
MiissarliiiNclls  lllsl.irliiil  Sucicly.  1,S(i>,t-7ii,  iKi^i'  ail.  Scc>  In  tlii'  Caliixy  for  .Jiiiui.ny, 
IsTe.   pii^M'   1:14.    I  la  I'lisliri*  Sti>iy    a   rrailiili'.c   ji^  riiiiiit   <if  tlio   iniuaiici'. 

Is"      .\lis.    .Sl);iiiirm\v's   puciii  Is  piliilcil   as   .Viiin-ndix   IV. 

iss,     [TiiiiKli's   .'^t.    Uiwrciicf   anil    I'ranklln   lonntiis.    tl.'i. 

IN'.t.     I'lM  ins*  of   riai'i's     .\nii'i-ira.   its. 

1!M(.     SIm'm's   Irliii-  In    Anirii.an   llsliii  l.iil    Kr.  i.nl,   ,In  y    1.S72     put!  •  MM. 

I'.n.  The  Jiinrnal  was  in  tin  Hi. Id  IHimi,  Qnolicr,  from  iiImmiI  I.siI  i  niUll  1S42; 
nnil  In  the  r<illi'p'  of  St.  Mary  In  Mnnlical  fioni  \XVi  nnlll  the  iirc-cnl  lini'.  Wlnsnr'H 
Carl  111-  to  I'rnnltMiiir.  1!47.  Tlii'  map  was  found  liy  .\Ir.  Slica  In  tlir  Onlli'tti'  of  ,st. 
Mary    ulnM-o   il    w.-is  pni    in    IM'J.      Wlnsor'i    Narrallvi'  anil  frllical    Illslory    IV.    U17. 


HIS  FOIiElU'X.XEES,  HIMSELF. 


167 


idea  of  peopling  tliesc  Occident  shores  with  orient  aborigines  first  iiad 
birth— whctiier  with  the  Rev.  Jcdcdiah  Morse,  D.  D.,'"^  or  with  the 
Rev.  Eleazer  WilHams,"'^  ^^  wliether  it  had  still  earlier  origin  with  the 
tribes  theinselves'»'-is  iiiiniaterial  here.  Certain  it  is  that  in  i8'o 
Dr.  Morse""--  visited  Mackinaw  and  Green  Eay  at  the  instance  of  the 
Stockbndge  Indians,  •»'■■  for  the  purpose  of  selecting,  and  negotiating 
for  a  cession  of.  eligible  lands.  The  choice  which  he  made  and  ids 
report'"'  upon  the  condition  of  the  tribes  in  the  west,  were  so  satis- 
factory to  the  Slockbridges  that  they  deterniined  to  enlist  the  co-op- 
eration of  their  friends  and  neighbors,  tiie  Oneidas.  For  this  purptjse 
Dr.  Morse  in  October,  i8_'o,  visited  the  Castle'»s  ^nd  found  not  onlv 
that  bdcazer  W  illiams  was  ripe  for  the  removal,  but  that  he  had  .dready 
taken  a  step  in  that  direction.    That  step  was  his  first  western  trip. 

In  the  preceding  winter  application  had  been  made  to  the  War 
Department  at  Washington  by  persons  purporting  to  be  representa- 
tives of  some  of  the  New  York  Iroquois  tribes,  and  of  the  Stockbridge 
and  St.  Regis  tribes,  for  leave  to  visit  the  Green  Bay  Indians.  The 
secretary  of  war  granted  the  iiermission,  furnished  delegates  ro  the 
number  of  twelve  with  rations  and  ammunition  and  directed  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  AfTairs  at  Detroit  to  expedite  the  travelers 
with  a  government  vessel  should  one  fit  for  service  be  there  upon 
their  arrival.  The  delegation,  in  which  was  Eleazer  Williams 
reached  Detroit  July  22,  1820,  in  the  steamboat  Walk-in-thc 
wata-y^^  But  the  party  proceeded  no  further.  Learning  that  the 
Indian  agent  at  Green  Bay,  Colonel  John  B..wyer,  had  received  from 
the  Menominces  a  cession  of  forty  miles  square  of  their  land  at  Fort 
Howard,  which  was  the  very  land  the  members  of  the  delr-gation 
coveted,  and  the  purchase  of  which  was  their  real  errand,  they  returned 
home  defeated  and   chagrined  '-'"" 

MIL'.     ICnis'    .\o\v   Y.iik    InaiaiiH,    Wis.    lllsL    {\,\\.    n.    40,, 

\m.    Kills'  Nmv  York   Iiiiliiins.   Wis,    llisi,   (oil.    ii.    (21:   Ellis'  F'.  iizcr  Williams 

Wis.  iiist.  Coll.  VIII,  ;i;ii. 

IIM.     Miirsh-s    Sl,.rkl.n,lrrs.    Wis.    UN,,    CoH.    iv.    ;i,M,:    Kins'    N,.w    y.„k    liKlians, 
II,    410. 

111.-..     K.)i-  n  hiU'l-  skol,|,  „r  I),..    .Moi-so  soc  Davidson's   In   nnia ,1    Wi- in      IT 

II.'  aiTiv.Ml  in  (iiwii   Ila.v,  .Inl.v  7,    |S2,l,  as  si'c  I)avl,|.oii.   .",:;:    \,nill,'s  < ,    Hay     IT",- 

Kills'    .\,.w    York    Indians,    Wis.    Ills!,    loll.    H.     IIT.    n,.t..      niinlr    (IJiv.m    lliv  '  pa-,. 
X)  ill  wriiiiiu  l.s;;i,  i^  ono  .vi'ar  t<j,i  laic. 

Hit!.     Tlir    ,^lo(kl.ildK..s.     inoiv    pi-o|),.rI.v    .nil,-!    111,.     \lo  l,,.  kni-nrck-      w,.,,.    ,  nii 
Ki-anls  al    an   oarly   da.v    from    .Massaohnsrils   (o  oii.dda    «'n„Mly.    Ww    YoiU,    wiuTo   Hi,. 

Oli.diias   ,v,|,.d    lo   ihcni   a    sli,'„   from    Iho   S,,Mllioni   porii, i   i|„.ir   i„>,>iyali,in.      Kills' 

New   York   Indians,   A\ls,   Illst.  Cill     II,    tltl. 

1!'7,    This  roporf.    tlu-   most   .■,,nii.l,.t..  an  I  cxhaiisi  iv,.   ,  ,v  r  ma, I i  ih,.   .on 

dilion.   iMimlior,    naim's.   torril,  ry   ,n;d   ;:< lal    affairs  ol'   l|„.    ind  atis   wns   iMhilsl  ..,1   in 

.New  Haven  in  l.Slii;,  VM\  pap's lavo.     Calalovn,"  of  rnit,.,l   stal  s   I'nhli..all,ins,   tin 

lli.s.     Kills'   I'lli'azcr  Williams,   Wis.   IIIsl,   (^ill.   Vlll.  rfJT. 

llil>.     Hctniit  (!a/.c.tli'.    .Inly   'JS.    lKL>ii, 

-MMt.     Kills'    \(.u     York    111,11,111s,    Wis     Illst,    C  11     II.     il'.'!. 


.5 

ir 


if 


i 

4 
t 
\ 

■  i 


I  i 


168 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


Hence  Eleazer  was  at  the  Castle  to  meet  Dr.  Morse  in  October. 
1820     But  although  these  two  agreed  in  expediting  an  Indian  hegira. 
they   differed   radically   in  their   motives.     Indeed,   there   were  three 
motives  operating'  from  three  different  directions  in  favor  ot  removal: 
From  Dr.  Morse  and  the  Stockbridges,  that  the  latter  and  their  com- 
panions might  have  Christian  homes,  free  from  Caucasian  contamin:i- 
tion-  from  Eleazer  Williams,  that  he  might  lead  the  Iroquois  and  then 
allies  to  vast  areas  for  a  grand  imperial  confederacy;  and  trom  th. 
New    York    Land    Company,    that   its    already    acquired    pre-emption 
right   might  attach   to   the    fertile   lands    of  the   New   \ork    Indians 
which  would  happen  as  soon  as  these  should  quit   iic  sta  e.-  ^     A  1 
agreeing  in  the  result  to  be  accomplished,  Eleazer  was  easily  .he  al  y 
of  both     He  made  the  visit  of  Dr.  Morse  as  pleasant  and  as  proiitabk- 
as  the  'inertness  of  the  Oneidas  and  their  unwillingness  to  remove 
would  permit.     Indeed,  he  put  into  their  mouths  an  address  10  Dr 
Morse  agreeing  to  depart-an  address   which   they   never  made  and 
which  they  repudiated  as  soon  as  they  understood  Its  sentiment..-  - 

The  treaty  of  cession  which  Colonel  Bowyer  made  with  the 
Menominees  was  rejected  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  ^tates'^^a  and 
therefore  it  was  believed  that  a  second  trip  to  the  west  by  the  New 
York  Indians  might  result  in  their  aciuiring  the  longed  lor  lands 
about  Fort  Howard.  Consequently  in  the  spring  oi  1821  bleazei 
Wilfiams.  aided  by  his  friend  Ellis,  whose  youthful  ardor  had  been 
stirred  by  the  grandeur  of  the  plan  ot  Indian  empire  unfohlcd  to  him. 
began  preparations  for  the  journey.'-'" 

~    \  visit  by  them  to  New  York.  Philadelphia  and  Washington  ac- 
■  complished  much.    The  New  York  Land  Company  supplied  theni  with 
money:  the  Domestic  and  Foreign   Missionary   Society  oithe   in.a 
estant   Episcopal   Church,    and   the    Presbyterian    Board    ot    M-ssions 
handed  them  cautious  Init  efficacious  endorsements  and  the  1  resHleiu 
of  the   United   States  accorded   his   assent    for   a   large    delegation     o 
visit   Green    Bay  under   government   patronage  and  prutection.      He 
party   consisted   of   duly   accredite.l    representatives    trom    the    St()ck- 
hridoc.  and  from  the  first  Christia-i  party  ot  the  One.das  xNliieh  had 
tinairy  approved  Eleazer's  plans.     Individual  Indians  on  then-  own  re 
sponsibility  joined  the  company  from  the  Tusraroras.  Onondagas  and 
Senecas    for  these  tribes  as  bodies  had  never  yielded  their  e,.nsent  tn 
Flea/er^  earnest  Idandishments.     Eleazer  himsell  went  as  rcpr.^ent,. 


201  nnvldsnii's  In  fiinamrd  Wi.->o.nslu.  ,".;  .Suihcnlnn.rs  Kail.v  W  1-' 
IlNt  Coll.  X.  278  rur  M.m..  aoc.ini.t  ..r  the  Nvw  VorU  Lm..!  CoiiManv 
witli  111.'  Six  NalUiiis,  S..0  S.nora  Nation  of  In.llnrs  v  rhrlsly.  !!•  lln  .  ..lil 
122;    1(12  U.    S.   2S.'!. 

202.     KIllH'   Kloazcr   Williams.   Wis.    lll«r.   <''.ll.    VIII.    :i'.'7, 

2(Kt.     I'^llls'   Ni'w   York   Iiiillans,   WIb.    Illst.   foil     II.    l;;:i. 

"114     Kills'   Kh'azor  Wiiihiiiis.   wi--.    list.   Col.    VIII.   :.'(i.  :i;:i^ 


iii.sin,  A  •■'. 
'.1  rolatliii's 
;    I21I    N.    V. 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


169 


live  of  the  St.  Regis  tribe  but  apparently  without  their  authority. ^u'' 
The  delegation  left  Oneida  in  June,  iSji.^o"  and  arrived  July  12, 
1821,  on  the  JValk-in-the-Water  at  Detroit.^o^  Here  Governor  Cass 
added  Charles  C.  Trowbridge  to  the  party  to  protect  the  gov..'rn- 
ment's  interests.-"**  The  H'olk-in-the-lVater,  with  its  load  of  trav- 
elers, started  for  Mackinaw  July  31,  i82i."^'->  Leaving  Mr.  Ellis  tiicre, 
for  he  was  ill.-^''  the  IValk-in-the-ll'ater  advanced  towards  Green 
Bay — the  first  steamer  to  plough  the  waters  of  Lake  Alichigan.'-'^ 

The  party  reached  Green  Bay  August  5,  1821, -'-'  but  there  was  no 
one  to  meet  them.  Colonel  Bowyer,  the  Indian  agent,  had  died 
ihe  preceding  winter  and  the  interested  bands  had  not  been  informed 
of  the  projected  visit.  With  difficulty  the  Alenoniinees  and  Winne- 
bagoes  were  brought  into  council.  When  so  brought  they  at  first 
refused  to  negotiate.  Finally,  however,  through  the  influence  of  the 
French  inhabitants  and  traders,  a  reconsideration  was  accomplished 
and  on  August  18,  1821,  a  treaty  was  concluded  by  which  was  ceded 
to  the  New  York  Indians  a  strip  about  four  miles  in  width  crossing 
Fox  River  at  right  angles,  with  Little  Chute  as  a  center  and  running 
each  way  equidistant  with  the  grantors'  claim  to  the  country.  The 
price  paid  was  five  hundred  dollars  in  cash  and  fifteen  hundred  dollars 
in  goods  to  be  delivered  the  following  year.-^-'' 

If  the  agents  were  satisfied  with  this  treaty  their  principals  and 
others  whom  they  hoped  to  bind  were  not.  All  the  tribes,  except  the 
St.  Regis  band,  took  action  upon  the  return  of  the  delegates.  The 
cession  was  voted  paltry  and  the  motives  of  Eleazer  were  termed  mer- 
cenary if  not  villainous.  The  Oncidas  especially,  including  even  some 
of  the  first  Christian  party,  were  vehement  in  their  action.  They 
forwarded  to  Bishop  Hobart  a  document,  dated  November  2t.  1821, 
remonstrating  against  the  scheme  to  rob  them  of  their  homes  and  make 
them  fugitives  and  vagabonds,  cautioning  him  against  recognizing 
Eleazer  as  having  any  authority  to  represent  them  cither  civilly  or 
religiously,  and  requesting  the  Bishop  to  witlidniw  him  as  their 
religious  teacher.-'* 


205. 
olUctlons 

20(i. 

207. 

208. 

2(1!>. 

210. 

211. 

212. 

2i;i. 
wn«'  nppi'ii 

214. 
Coll.   VUI 


Kills'  Eloiizer  Williams,  Wis.  111st.  Coll.  VIII,  ;i3;!,  ^31:  Wh'ltlesoys  Itec- 
Wls.   Hist.  Coll.   1,  68  note. 
Kills'   Uoi'olleotlons,  Wis.  Hist.   Coll.  VII,  210. 
Detroit  Gazette,  July  13,  1821. 

Kills'   Elcazor  WlUlatus,  Wis.  lllst.  Coll.  VIII,  335. 
Hnlrd's    lOnrlj-  Wisconsin,    Wis.   Hist.   Coll.   II.   94,    note. 
Ellis'    RecoUectlmp,   Wis.   Hist.    C.iU.   VII,   213. 
Hnlrd's  Karly  Wisconsin,  Wis.  Hist.  Coll.  11.  94,  iin.l  n..to. 
Diirrle's  Gicon  Buy,  8. 

Martin's  Address,  Jammry  21.   Is51,   pai;.'  ;»'.,  glvo>  th  ■  treaty   i.i  full      Ii 
ived  tiy  the  president,  Fotininry  19,  1822. 

Davidson's  In   Unnamed  Wisconsin.  64;   Ellis'   Eli  azer  WIIUmiiis,  Wis.  Hl>t. 
:i;ir.. 


170 


KLEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


■!1 


I 


But  to  this  docunicnt  altliough  certain  in  its  sound  and  pointed 
in  its  statements  the  Bisliop  paid  no  heed.  Moreover,  the  pr.-sident 
by  a  new  order  permitted  a  third  visit  to  Green  Hay,  in  1822,  tor  the 
purpose  of  paying  for  the  former  i)urciiase  and  also  for  attemptinfi:  an 
extension  of  the  cession.  Akhuogh  the  Iroquois  were  still  in  opposi- 
tion, the  delegation  was  l;irger  than  l)efore  for  the  Stockhridges  had 
brought  in  the  Brothertowns  and  t'^e  Munsces.-i'"'  The  party,  h^lcazer 
included,  reached  Green  Bay  September  i,  1822.  The  granting  Indians 
assembled  to  receive  their  deferred  payment  and  were  asked  for  an 
enlargement  of  the  grant.  The  Winnebagoes  refused  and  retired. 
The  Menominees  finally,  after  much  parleying  in  which  Eleazer  urged 
many  plausible  arguments  and  made  many  fulsome  promises,  entered 
into  a  treaty  admitting  the  New  York  Indians  to  r-n  occupancy  in 
common  with  them  of  all  their  couiUry  without  reserve — a  treaty 
which  related  to  nearly  one-half  the  present  state  of  Wisconsin  and 
which  became  the  source  of  endless  trouble. -'«  With  slight  modifica- 
tion  President   Monroe  gave  Ifis  approval    March   13,    i8j,v 

So  Eleazer  Wdliams,  in  September,  1822,  l)egan  to  reside  in 
Wisconsin.  He  and  the  individual  Oneidas  in  the  delegation  who 
had  continued  loyal  to  him  remained  the  approaching  winter  m  Green 
Bay. 

The  iie.xt  season  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  Oneidas  of  the 
first  Christian  iiarty  and  as  many  Stockhridges  removed  to  the  new 
possessions.  But  the  implacable  hostility  of  the  Six  Nations  as 
.•I  whole  continued,  and  although  Oneidas  and  Stockhridges  year  after 
year  dribbled  into  the  new  territory  the  fewness  of  their  numbers  was 
a  disappointment  to  Eleazer  and  a  menace  to  his  and)itions.-i" 

Eleazer's  first  residence  in  Green  Bay  was  in  the  Indian  Agency 
building  made  v;icant  by  Colonel  Bowyer's  death. -"^  In  this  was  a 
large  sijuare  mom  suitable  for  school  ])urposes  and  scliools  were 
what  the  .Menominees  desired.  Indeed  education,  although  not  men- 
tioned in  the  treaty  with  them,  was  written  between  its  lines.  The 
Green  Bay  In(lian>  intUienced  by  lluir  alliances  and  business  dealings 
with  the  resilient  French  had  formed  a  high  opinio?!  of  intelligence 
and  admired  the  learning  of  the  New  York  red  men,  not  a  few  of 
whom   could   read  and  write,      h^le.'izer,   in   furthering  the   negotiations 

L'l.".  Tlie  lirotlicrtowns  were  iisifoeiatid  ri'imiiiiils  nf  v.iiiuiiH  Now  Kiinliiiul  (lilii'i, 
'Hio  ,stii.klirl(l».'os  sold  ilicm  a  strip  from  tliclr  SiulliiTii  Loiilcr.  Kills"  Ninv  Yc  pk  lii- 
(lliliis,  Wis.  IIlsl.  Coll.  II,  410.  The  .Munsiis  wcrp  a  liniiuli  uf  tlio  Pflawaii'.s  sciit. 
tcrcd  III  riiiisiMniciii't'  of  liavliip  sldi'd  aualiisl  llio  I'lilmilsls  In  tlic  Amciican  Rvuliulnii. 
Ill  Wjscciiisin  llic.v  aro  iinitiMl  wltli  Un'  Stiicklii-ld'..'i's.  liavldsnii's  In  rmianicl  Wl.s- 
•  •(iiisiii.    ."i4. 

lilti.  Kills'  Il(M'(dlr'c(lMns.  Wis,  lllsl,  I'l.ll.  Vll,  'SS<:  Kits"  New  Yi  rk  liKliaim, 
Wis.  Hist.  Coll.   II,    lUs.  Till-  irciil.v   In  full   is  In  Miiitiiis  .\dilros.  lis. 

217.     Kills'    .Vcw   York   Indians.   Wis.    Hist,  C.dl,   II.    l.ln, 

lll.S.     liMvldsoii's   III   I'liiiaiiu'd   WIsroiiHln,   20'2. 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


171 


for  the  treaty  liatl  kept  tlie  subject  of  education  foremost  in  his  lohl)y- 
\ng  and  had  promised  profusely  that  if  the  New  York  Indians  secured 
the  foothold  they  sought,  the  "institutions  of  civilization  should  imme- 
diately be  forthcoming.  These  promises  made  a  deep  impression— 
their  non-fulfillment  a  still  deeper  impression.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
although  a  vacant  room  apt  for  school  use  was  under  Eleazer's  roof, 
though  his  friend  Mr.  Ellis  pressed  vigorously  upon  him  his  plighted 
word,  the  ignorance  and  degradation  of  the  untutored  savages  and  the 
expectations  of  the  Eastern  societies  which  had  furthered  the  removal, 
Eleazer  completely  banished  the  subject  from  his  serious  consideration 
and  raised  another  monument  against  himself  in  the  breasts  of  those 
wHiose  religious  teacher  and  exemplar  he  professed  to  be.^i" 

On  March  3,  1823,  Eleazer  Williams  married  Mary  or  Magdalene 
or  Madelaine  Jourdain.--"  She  was  the  daughter  of  Joseph  Jor.rdain 
who  about  1798  removed  from  Canada  to  Green  Bay,  and  worked  first 
for  Jacob  Franks  the  blacksmith,  and  later  for  himself.--^.  Afterwards 
he  became  the  blacksmith  of  the  Indian  department  at  the  Bay.--^ 
Joseph  married  the  daughter  of  Michael  Gravel  whose  wife  was  the 
daughter  of  a  Menominee  chief.-^*  All  the  witnesses  represent  the 
wife  of  Eleazer  as  an  attractive  girl, — girl,  literally,  for  she  was  but 
fourteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  her  marriage. --^  By  Mr.  Trow- 
bridge she  is  called  a  pretty  but  uneducated  half-breed.--''  Mr.  Plan- 
son  speaks  of  her  as  of  great  personal  attractions,  considerable  accom- 
plishments and  prepossessing  sweetness  of  disposition.-""  Mrs.  Evans 
states  that  "she  was  a  beautiful  and  amiable  girl  whose  father  was 
French  (said  to  be  a  relation  of  Marshal  Jourdain)  and  whose  mother 
was  of  P'rench  and  Indian  extraction. "-^t  Mr.  Wheelock  informs  me 
that  when  he  was  accustomed  to  see  her  in  and  after  1841  she  was 
a  handsome,  fine  appearing  woman.--'*  In  addition  to  lier  attractions 
of  person  she  owned  between  four  and  five  thousand  acres  of  land  on 


211).  Kills'  Kloa/.iM-  Willliinis,  Wis.  UlKt.  Coll.  Vlll.  .TI8.  .\  sclmol  was  ostal - 
ll.'ilied  tluoUHli  the  PlTorts  of  .Mr.  Ellis.  See  lii»  Itt-(.)llrctli)iis,  Wis,  Hist.  Coll.  VII, 
1.'20.  In  ospribliig  t'llucatlonul  liiitlntlve  to  Kloiizor.  Mr.  Wliitionl  (Karl.v  Hlslrry  cf 
Krtuciitlon  in  Wisconsin,  and  History  of  .SiMiool  Sup.rvlsion,  WIb.  llisl.  Coll.  V,  I!!!", 
854)  dnoa  not,  Hive  propor  croillt.  Kor  Kloazer's  loMnlntis  on  tlie  snlijcot  ol'  llii^  iiln 
oatlon  of  Ijis  raco,   soo  ColtonV  Tour   1,   175. 

L'2i).     Hanson's  The  I^wt   I'lincc,  ;{0O. 

Ii2l.    (irltinon's   U.  coHci  lions.  Wis.    Hist.  Coll.   HI,  i't.-I. 

•222.    Trowl.i'ldKo's   Kloazi-i-   Williams    Wis.    Hist,    Coll.   VII,    114. 

22;f.     (ii'lunoii's    KccolUMlions,    Wis.    Hist.    Coll.    HI,,    2.-i;{.      .Iosi'|ih   .L.nidiln   died 
Sla.v  21,    IStki:   his  wife  dicil  .Inni'  l,'l,   isil.-|,      .Sre  .Mis,    Wil'laiiis'   Dary. 

224.     Neville's   (.ifeen    Hay,    221. 

22,-).    TrowlirldKe   Khazer   Williams,    Wis,    UisI,    Coll,,    VII,.    411. 

22t!.    Ihinnon'H  'llie  UiHt  I'rIncc,  .'IcO. 

227.    Evans"   Story  of  Ixmis  XVH..  :ii), 

22,S,     I'ei'sonnI    Interview   .May   INlMt,    uilli    ilir   aiilhnr. 


172 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


Fox  River  near  Green  Bay.^-®  To  the  author  of  the  Williams  geneal- 
ogy Eleazci,  in  1846,  mentioned  her  as  "Mary  Ilobart  Jourdan.  a  dis- 
tant relative  of  the  king  of  France  from  whom  he  has  been  honored 
with  several  splendid  gifts  and  honors,  among  the  rest  a  golden 
cross  and  star.''-^"  In  other  conversation  with  the  same  person 
Eleazer  stated  that  the  prince  de  Joinville  was  a  relative  of  his  wife 
and  that  this  relationship  caused  the  visit,  (to  be  hereinafter  narrated) 
which  that  prince  made  to  Eleazer  in  1841  and  the  g'Us  which 
followed  the  visit.-'''^     I  make  no  comment  upon  this  st  -it  to 

urge  that,   if  the  prince  was  a  relative  of   Mrs.   William.  as  a 

very  ungallant  young  Frenchman  to  travel  all  the  distance  n  .a  Paris 
to  Green  Bay  and  not  once  tender  his  respects  to  his  beautiful  kins- 
woman. 

Eleazer's  matrimonial  incident  does  not  enhance  respect  for  the 
masculine  participator.  At  the  time  of  the  marriage  he  was  almost 
three  times  the  age  of  the  young  girl;  she  was  tlien  betrothed  to  a 
worthy  young  trader;  she  was  not  consulted  as  to  her  willingness  to 
marry  Eleazer;  she  was  not  even  allowed  a  woman's  privilege  of  a 
courtship,  but  was  notified  one  morning  that  she  need  not  go  to 
school  that  day  as  she  was  to  be  married  that  evening  to  "Priest 
Williams."  One  authority  finds  in  these  uncliivalrous  proceedings  an 
evidence  that  the  bridegroom  was  not  a  high-oorn  Frenchmen. -•'- 

Mrsi  Williams  had  three  children— two  of  them  daughters.  These 
last  died  in  infancy,  one  about  October  15,  1841.28^  The  son  John, 
born  about  1825,23*  was  in  1867  the  captain  of  a  steamboat  on  Lake 
Winnebago.-'"^  He  died  in  1884  from  injuries  received  in  his  busi- 
ness.-'"^ Eleazer  Williams  told  the  genealogist  Dr.  S.  W.  Williams 
in  1846  that  his  son,  the  said  John,  was  then  upon  a  visit  to  the  king 
of  France  at  the  latter's  request.^^'^  One  can  imagine  the  glee  of  the 
cunning  Indian  as  he  solemnly  doled  out  his  morsels  of  unmitigated 
tiction  to  auditors  who  relying  upon  his  clerical  profession  implicitly 
believed  all  his  lies. 

Descendants  of  John   ^^'il!inms  arc  now,   it   is   said,   residents   of 


229.  Hanson's  The  I^st  Prince,  300;  Evans'  Story  of  Louis  .N.VII.,  3u;  McCuH'b 
Jonniai,  Wis.   Hist.   Toll.,  XH.,   185. 

230.  Williams'    Williams    Family,    00. 

231.  Williams'  Rodcemed  Captivf,  177. 

232.  Draper's  AdUitlonal  Notes,  W'la.  Hist.  I'oll.,  VIII.,  307;  Neville's  Grien 
Bay,  221.  A  view  of  tlie  house  whore  the  wediling  took  plaee  Is  at  1  ago  21!»  01'  the 
latter  book.  8ee  also  Baird's  Indian  Cusloms,  Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  IX.,  321.  Some 
account  of  the  wedding  Is  in  Ellis*  RccoUcclions,  Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  VII.,  227. 

233.  Hanson's  The  Lost  I'rince,  372. 

234.  Kegister,   XIII.,  95. 

2.15.     Allibone's  Dictionary  of  Authors,   HI.,   2738. 
230.    Green  Bay  Gazette,  .July,  1S8C. 
237.    Williams'  Wllliums  Family,  90. 


HIS  FORERrXNERS,  HIMSELF. 


173 


Oshkosh,  Wisconsin.  Mrs.  Williams,  the  widow  of  Elcazcr,  was  in 
1874  living  alone  in  a  desolate  looking  cabin  near  Green  Bay,  its 
only  embellishments  a  few  simple  articles  of  bead  or  porcupine  em- 
broidery, and  a  well-executed  life-size  portrait  in  oil  of  Eleazer  Wil- 
liams, on  either  side  of  which  were  suspended  exquisitely  finished  en- 
gravings of  Louis  XVI.  of  France  and  Marie  Antoinette.^**  Mrs. 
Williams  adopted  her  husband's  diary  habit.  From  one  of  her 
journals  penned  when  well  along  in  years  it  appears  that  she  took 
interest  in  her  farm,  produce  and  livestock  and  in  the  domestic  affairs 
of  her  relatives  and  neighbors.  She  died  in  her  cabin  home,  which 
was  in  the  town  of  Lawrence  in  Brown  County,  July  21,  1886.239 

Resuming  the  chronological  narrative:  In  1824,  the  next  year 
after  Elcazer's  marriage,  he  was  licensed  to  perform  the  marriage 
ceremony  for  others— at  that  time  a  civil  service.^^o  At  about  the 
same  period  he  began  to  preach  in  Green  Bay,  using  the  much  mod- 
ernized discourses  of  his  Deerfield  great  ancestor.2+1  in  the  fall  of 
1825  he  took  his  young  wife  to  New  York,  where  Bishop  Hobart 
baptized  and  confirmed  her,  giving  her  his  sirname  for  her  middle 
name.  Her  christianization  "excited  almost  as  vivid  a  sensation  in 
the  fashionable  world  as  had  that  of  Pocahontas  in  English  society 
two  centuries  before."-^-  In  the  spring  of  1826  at  Oneida  Eleazer  was 
ordained  as  a  deacon  by  Bishop  Hobart,  but  he  never  attained  any 
higher  ecclesiastical  rank.^"  Returning  to  Green  Bay  he  preached 
at  the  Post  school-house^**  and  in  his  (lowing  robe  did  service  in  the 
episcopalian  form.--*'' 

But  he  was  not  so  occupied  with  religious  atifairs  as  to  forget 
that  grand  earthly  empire  that  he  would  fain  establish.  And  yet  the 
establishing  was  very  slow.  The  New  York  Indians  came  in  but 
scant  numbers  and  the  Indians  already  settled,  disaffected  by  his 
broken  promises  and  his  want  of  earnestness  for  their  spiritual  wel- 
fare, withdrew  their  confidence.  The  Domestic  and  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society  trusted  him  no  longer.  Finally  in  1827  the  Menom- 
inees,  the  tribe  which  had  opened  its  lands  to  the  New  York  Indians, 
showed  its  opposition  to  him  by  its  attitude  towards  them.  This  was 
at  the  treaty  of  Butte  des  Morts,  concluded  August  11,  1827,2"  bc- 


238.    Martin's  Uncrowned  Hapsburg.  87. 

-;il).    Gri't-n  Bay  Ciuzette,  July,   1880;   O'Erlon's  .\ocoiint  of  EU'Uzer  WUUams.   In 
Chlougo  Times,   Soptem.'cr  18,   1880. 

240.  Durrle'8  Green  Bay,   9. 

241.  Kills'   Eleazer  Williams,  Wis.   Hist.  Coll.,   VlII,  .•!2t. 

242.  Miirtln's  Uncrowned   Hapslmig,  !>2:     Neville's  Gre.u  Bay,   222. 

213.    Davidson's  In  Unnamed  Wisconsin.  65;    Letter  of  Mrs.  Evans  in  Green  Ba? 
Gazette,  July,  1895;    Miss  Martin's  Reply,  Grren  Bay  Gazette.  July  28.  1805. 
244.    Kills'  Kccollcotlons,   Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  VII.,  237. 
246.    MeCall's  Jounial,  Wis.  Hist.  Coll..  XII.,  1!K). 
2411.     McCall's  Journal,  Wis.  Hist.  Coll..  XII..   172. 


174 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


K| 


tween  the  Mcnominees  and  tlic  governnuMit.  By  this  instrument  but 
little  regard  was  paid  to  anj-  riglits  formerly  given  to  the  eastern 
Indians.  If  ill  faith  be  imputed  to  the  contracting  parties  there  is 
nnich  justitication  alleged.  The  arrivals  from  New  York  had  been  so 
few  that  it  was  not  fair  to  the  rapidly  growing  west  to  concede  to 
those  few  an  imperial  territory.  Moreover,  it  was  notorious  that  few 
if  any  more  were  expected  to  migrate.  It  was  poor  policy  to  yield 
up  in  perpetuity  to  a  few  Oneidas.  Stockbridges,  Brothertowns,  Mun- 
sees,  a  parcel  of  country  equal  to  about  one-half  of  the  present  state 
of  Wisconsin. -^" 

In  1829  Colonel  Samuel  C.  Stambaugh  of  Pennsylvania  became 
Indian  agent  at  Green  Bay.  His  advice  to  the  Mcnominees  was 
along  the  line  of  the  Butte  des  Morts  treaty— to  ignore  the  New  York 
Indians  and  sell  land  to  the  government-'^— advice  which  estal)lishcd 
him  in  the  high  regard  of  the  Mcnominees  and  in  the  low  esteem  of 
Klcazer  who  saw  in  the  acceptance  of  this  advice  the  death  of  his  am- 
bitious hopes. 

In  1830  commissioners  appointed  by  the  president  under  authority 
actually  granted  by,  or  plainly  inferable  from,  the  treaty  of  Butte  des 
Morts  appeared  at  the  Bay,  to  localize,  to  establish  boundaries  for, 
the  New  York  tribes  which,  under  the  treaty  of  182J,  were  in  the 
reservations  of  the  IMenominees.  At  the  conference  held  with  these 
commissioners  Elcazer  Williams  ai)peared  as  the  representative  of 
the  St.  Regis  Indians, -^'•'  not  one  of  whom,  so  far  as  I  can  learn, 
had  yet  arrived  at  Green  Bay  as  a  settler.  The  commissioners  accom- 
plished nothing — the  Mcnominees,  Oshkosh  at  their  head,  refused  any 
agreement  by  which  the  New  York  Indians  were  to  have  separate 
localization.  Indeed,  Oshkosh  denied  that  they  had  any  claims  at 
all,  yet  as  these  Indians  were  on  the  ground  they  could  be  considered 
as  tenants  at  will  during  good  behavior  but  not  as  owners  or  con- 
trollers of  the  soil.-"'" 

This  was  Colonel  Stambaugh's  opportunity.  Accompanied  by  a 
dozen  or  more  Alenominees  he  started  November  8,  1830,  for  Wash- 
ington. Upon  reaching  Detroit  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams,  who  had 
followed  the  party  from  Green  Bay,  were  olficially  attached  to  it  by 
Governor  Cass,  although  Elcazer  and  the  other  New  York  Indians 
were  opposed  to  the  object  of  the  errand. -''i  The  Menominecs  suc- 
ceeded in  effecting  a  cession  to  the  government  of  more  than  one-half 


247.  Kills"  Elpiizer  Willliiuis,  Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  VIII.,  atl.  Kle.izcr  WiUiiims' 
viows  of  the  wroiiKs  done  to  the  New  Ymk  Iiidliins  will  be  fi  iiml  In  ('(ilt.iii's  Tour.  I., 
ITS  Pt  .sfi/. 

•2iS.     Ellis'   New  York  Iiiilliins,  Wis.    Hist.  Coll.,   II.,   -132. 

24i).     .McCall's  ,Touniiil.    Wis.    Ilisl.    Coll  ,   XII.,    1!»2. 

250.     Kills'   .Now  York   Imliiiiis.   Wis.    IIIsl.  Coll..   II.,  4.'12 

2.'il.     Cnrpenlcr's  .Sketch  of  Iiiiuh'l   Ilie.id,  Wis.    lllst.   Coll.,    Ill  ,  M. 


H'r,  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


176 


r)i'  tlicir  possessions  west  of  Lake  Michigan,  ignorin«  almost  wholly 
the  rights  which  about  eight  years  before  they  had  solemnly  conferred 
upon  their  eastern  brethren.  This,  the  Stambaugh  treaty,-''-  dated 
February  8,  1831.  was  not  confirmed  by  the  senate  exactly  as  made, 
for  the  New  Yoric  senators  proposed  to  be  just  to  the  emigrants  from 
that  state  to  the  wcsttMMi  territory.  The  details  of  much  negotiation 
and  nnich  heart-burning  are  not  pertinent  here.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that  when  the  vexed  land  question  was  finally  settled  the  Stockbridges, 
Munsees  and  Brothertowns  were  restricted  to  a  parcel,  eight  miles 
by  twelve,  on  the  eastern  shores  of  Lake  Wmnebago,  while  the  i^Jnei- 
(las  and  other  scattered  Six  Nations  were  settled  at  Duck  Creek  west 
of  Fox  River  on  a  tract  about  twelve  miles  scjuare.  The  senate  ratified 
this  arrangement  May  17.  1838. '-•''■'• 

This  was  the  end  of  the  scheme  of  ambition  and  temporal  sov- 
ereignty which  for  almost  a  score  of  years  Eleazer  Williams  had 
nourished  and  fostered.  The  dusky  empire  had  disintegrated,  the 
(litTerent  bands  discordant  and  hostile  had  been  confined  in  narrow 
paddocks,  the  tide  of  white  civilization  was  rushing  in.  No  longer 
a  public  character  Eleazer  had  withdrawn  from  Green  Bay  and  was 
residing  upon  his  wife's  estate  at  Little  Kaukaulin,  there  to  remain 
in  humble  obscurity  until  a  wilder  dream  for  wider  empire  should 
arouse  his  dormant  hopes. 

l'".leazcr  had  become  not  only  dethronetl  but  discredited.  For 
(|uite  a  period  he  had  been  chaplain  of  the  Oneidas  settled  at  Duck 
Creek,  upon  an  annual  salary  of  two  bundled  and  fifty  dollars.-''* 
Vet  he  constantly  neglected  his  Hock.  More  than  this,  he  forbade  the 
Oneidas  to  receive  the  evangelizations  of  pastors  of  other  denomina- 
tions.-•'•"'  Weary  of  neglect,  still  wearier  of  him,  the  Oneidas  held  a 
council  in  b'ebruary,  i8,?j,  to  which  the  Indian  agent,  C\)lonel  George 
Boyd,-"'"  was  summoned  and  to  which  he  invited  some  citizens  of 
Green  Bay.  These  Oneidas  were  .-hietly  of  the  First  Christian  party, 
whom  Eleazer  had  bound  to  himself  a  tlozen  years  before,  in  the  first 
days  of  his  ministrations,  before  the  cares  of  this  world  and  the  de.cil- 
fulness  of  riches  had  made  him  unfit  to  be  their  pastor.  The  assembled 
Indians  after  rehearsing  their  grievances  against  Fleazer  concluded 
with  an  address  to  the  agent,  stating  that  they  had  invited  him  to 
assist  them  in  making  a  final  separation  from  Eleazer  and  dismissing 


fl 


2r>2.  ElUs'  .\(\v  Vdi-U  Iniliaus,  Wl.-;.  llipt.  CM.,  II.,  l.*?."!  glvps  o.vtiacis  fMiii  the 
Stuiiili.iuKli   tioaty. 

•S>:\.  KlUs'  .New  Viirk  Iiiill.ins.  Wis.  lll.st.  Coll.,  H.,  44,"),  44S;  Kills'  K.lcMZor 
WUllimis,  Wis.  Ilisl.  r,,il.,   VIII.,  ;i43. 

Li,->1.     McCiiU's  .Idiiniiil,   WI.S.   Hist.  Coll.,  XII.,  1S5. 

2.V1.     liavlilson'.-i  111   riiiiaiiifil  \Visc(iii.-<lii,   122. 

2riti.  Ciiloni'l  SliiiiiliMiiL'li's  a[i|i()iiitiiioiit  iis  iin  Iiiili.in  .Vsrcnl  wiis  roliisi'il  conllruiii- 
lioii  mill  Ciiloiii'l   Ito.vil  was  apiMiiiiii'il  in  liis  riiuin. 


176 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


iiim  entirely.  They  expressed  their  desire  to  repudiate  hitn  siiiii- 
inarily,  to  warn  the  government  of  the  United  States,  the  state  of  New 
York  and  all  church  and  missionary  societies  against  recognizing  his 
authority  to  act  for  them,  to  speak  in  their  name,  or  in  any  possible 
way  to  meddle  in  their  affairs.  They  requested  Colonel  Boyd  to  draft 
in  triplicate  an  instrument  to  be  signed  by  them  and  witnessed  by  him 
and  by  his  invited  guests,  setting  forth  distinctly  and  plainly  their 
protestations — one  for  the  secretary  of  war,  another  for  the  governor 
of  New  York,  the  third  for  the  proper  authorities  of  the  Episcopal 
church.  These  documents  were  drafted  and  signed  and  committed 
to  the  agent  for  delivery — an  action  which  while  perhaps  neither 
technical,  official  nor  ecclesiastical,  fully  justified  the  authors  of  His- 
toric Green  Bay  in  writing  of  Eleazer  Williams  as  a  "disowned  clergy- 
man of  the  Episcopal  church, "^^^  notwithstanding  the  assertion  con- 
cerning him  of  Dr.  Hawks  on  January  i,  1853,  "He  is  in  good  standing 
as  a  clergyman  and  is  deemed  a  man  of  truth  among  his  acquaintance 
and  those  with  whom  he  has  longest  lived. "^''^ 

Exactly  what  his  standing  was  in  and  about  Green  Bay.  let  Air. 
John  Y.  Smith  witness,  who  knew  him  intimately  from  i8j8  until 
1837:250 

He  was  a  f.it,  lazy,  good-for-nothing  Indian;  but  cuDniDg,260  rrafly,  fiuitful  In 
expedients  to  raise  the  wind  and  unscrupulous  about  the  means  of  accimpllsliing  It. 
During  the  last  four  or  five  years  of  mj-  acquaintance  with  him,  I  doubt  whether 
there  was  a  man  at  Green  Hay  wliose  word  commanded  less  confldince  than  that  ot 
Kleazer  Williams.  His  character  for  dishonesty,  trickery  and  falsehood  becanu'  so 
notorious  and  scandalous  that  respectable  Episcopalians  preferred  c!iarg<'8  against  him 
to  Rl.shop  <)uderdonk.201  But  as  .Mr.  Williams  was  located  in  tlie  di(  ceso  of  Wis- 
consin under  Bishop  Kemper,  the  bishop  of  New  York  disclaimed  jurisdiction  of  the 
c.iBc;  and,  as  Williams  was  there  under  a  commission  from  a  society  in  New  York, 
Bishop  ICemper  disclaimed  Jurisdiction  of  the  case,  and  In  consequence  of  thee 
counter-disclaimers   the   charges   were   never   investigated  2112 


■| 


;!44. 


I., 


•ibi. 

258. 
194. 
259. 
260. 


Neville's  Ureen  Bay,   222.     Ellis'   Eleazer  Williams,   Wis.    Hist.   C'oll.   VIII 
Dr.    Hawks'    Introduction   to   Have   Vic  a  Bourbon    Among   Us?-  Putnam's 


.Smith's  Eleazer  Williams,  Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  VI.,  330. 

Cunning  is  ascribed  to  Eleazer  In  one  of  the  earliest  cliaracterlzatlons  of 
him  us  aa  adult  which  I  have  seen— In  August.  18:i0.  See  .McCall's  Jourual,  Wis.  Hist. 
Coll.,  XII.,  185. 

261.  Bishop  Hobart  had  died  September  ]2,  1830;  Benjamin  T.  Onderdonk  snc 
ceedcd  him  as  bishop  of  New  York,  November  26,  1830.  The  Hev.  Jacksun  Kumiier 
li'-'canie  In  1835  missionary  bishop  of  Missouri  and  Indiana  with  Jurisdiction  thmugli- 
out  the  Northwest.  In  1S59  this  Jurisdiction  was  limited  by  his  accepting  the  bishop- 
ric of  Wisconsin.  Morehouse's  Some  American  Cliurchmen,  110,  117.  As  to  the  unwil- 
lingness of  either  Bishop  Onderdonk  or  Bishop  Kemper  to  be  responsible  for  Eleazer 
Williams,  see  Hanson's  Have  We  a  Bourbon  Among  Us 7— Putnam's,  I.,  200. 

202.  Smith's  Eleazer  Williams,  Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  VI.,  332.  Xdin  Y.  Smitli  was 
horn    in   New    York    State   February    10,   1807.      He   was   a    man  of   great    sircngth   of 


HIS  FOKERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


177 


It  is  not  pleasant  to  perpetuate  these  charcterizations,  to  recall 
these  misconducts  of  one  long  dead  and  as  to  whom  I  would  fain 
apply  the  direction,  Nil  nisi  bonum  de  mortuis.  But  the  truth  of 
history  is  involved  and  the  claims  for  Eleazer  Williams  depend  largely 
upon  his  personal  statements.  Candor,  therefore,  compels  me  to  say — 
and  these  pages  ill  perform  their  mission  if  they  fail  to  prove — that, 
obstinate  persisting  to  act  a  false  part  was  exactly  suitable  to  Eleazer 
Williams'  character,-"''  that  he  abounded  in  sly  cunning,  was  prone 
to  tricks,  apt  to  exaggerate,  quick  to  invent,  utterly  untruthful. 

And  yet,  I  am  glad  to  parallel  these  criticisms,  with  the  justifica- 
tions which  Judge  Morgan  L.  Martin  with  charcteristic  clemency  has 
uttered  in  favor  of  Eleazer  Williams: 

A  ninii  reiireil  niiiltl  Knvnge  surroundings,  ns  lie  was,  should  be  jiiilgiMl  by  ;i 
din'orent  standard  tlinn  wo  set  up  fur  one  who  lias  spent  his  life  entirely  amon;.' 
white  peoide.  No  one  con  from  ohlldhood  fraternize  with  Indians  without  absorbini; 
their  charaotoristics  lo  Koiiio  rxtent,--und  beciinlng  vain,  deceitful  and  lina-tful.  He 
was  a  remarkable  man  in  many  respects,  Imt  was  deeply  imbued  witli  false  notbms 
of  life,  and  his  career  was  a  failure.  He  was  neither  better  nor  worse  than  his 
life-long  compunlons  and  was  what  ml^ht  have  been  expected  fmui  one  wlio  h;id 
been  sent  Into  the  world  with  certain  racial  vices  and  wIkisc  training;  and  associatioiis 
were  not  calculated   to   better  liiin.UG4 

Notwithstanding  Elcazer's  permanent  residence  in  Wisconsn  lie 
did  not  sever  his  connection  with  his  eastern  kin.  In  1835  he  was  at 
St.  Regis  endeavoring  to  obti'in  long  delayed  justice  from  the  govern- 
ment for  his  father's  services  in  the  war  of  1812.-''^  Three  years  later 
he  was  again  in  New  York  and  visited  in  Buffalo;-'^"  in  1841  while 
once  more  in  the  same  state  incidents  occurred  which  demand  atten- 
tion. 

In  August  of  that  year  he  celebrated  with  the  Oneida  Indians  at 
the  Castle  the  eighth  triennial  aivivcrsary  of  the  conversion  of  six 
Intndred  pagans  of  that  tribe  to  the  Christian  faith.  His  part  in  the 
cominemoration  of  an  event  with  which  in  1817  he  was  personally  con- 
nected consisted  in  the  delivery  of  two  homilies  entitled  The  salva- 
tion of  sinners  through  riehes  of  divine  grace.'-'''  After  purlicipat  ng 
in  the  celebration  I"".leazer  Williams  proceeded  to  Si.  Regis.  There 
he  was  abiding  in  October,  1841,  when  the  prince  de  Joinville  then  in 
America  was   about   starling   ui>nii    iiis   tour   to  the    Mississippi. 

The  prince  de  Joinville  was  the  third  son  of  Louis   Phi]ii)pe.  then 


ll 


{• 


eharaeler.  I liiinniu'li  pnilKy  and  lltoiary  ciiiluio.  His  sta(cmeiits  may  be  accepted 
withntit  ipiestiuii.  lie  dicil  M.iy  ."i.  I,s74.  Wii^liCs  Tlie  Old  White  Cluireli,  11:  iHirri.''.^ 
John  Y.   .Smltli,    Wis.    Hist.    Coll.,   VII.,   452. 

20.'!.    Uam  on  Facts,   4;i3,   uses  this  claiiso  willi  reference  to  .\ri:oId   <hi  Tllh. 

2tU.     .Martin's   Naratlvo.   Wis.    Hist.    Co:!.,    XI.,   3!X). 

266.  Report,  January  10,  1857,  <in  claim  of  Mary  .\nn  Wllliaii  s.  Iliiise  roin- 
mltteo  on  Military  .\ITalrs,  34lh  Oingres^,   Thiid   Se8<io:i,   .No.   .SS, 

200(.    Uobeiison's  Last  of  the  Hdurbon  story.  9ii. 

207.    These  lininllles  were  puhllslK'd  at  Green   Hiiy   In   1812 


178 


ELEAZKR  WILLIAMS. 


\  , 


15 


king  of  the  French,  and  was  born  AnRiist  14.  1818. ■-""     In  1840  he  com 
nianded  the  vessel   which   hrouRht  troiu   St.    Helena  the  l)ones  of  the 
great  emperor— that  mistake  of  policy  fatal  to  the  honse  of  Orleans—, 
and  in   1841   was  travelin^J:  in   Canada  and  in  the   United  States.      He 
desired  to   familiarize  iiimself  with  the  history  of  those  two  conntries 
•  especially  in  relation  to  the  French  occupation  of  the  former  country. 
Besides  as  he  states  in  his  Memoirs,   "I   was  anxious   to  go,   via   the 
Great  lakes  to  Green   Bay  on  Lake  .Michigan,  and  then  starting'  fro.ni 
Mackinaw,  the  old  Indian  Michillimackinac.  to  follow  up  the  track  of 
our   officers   and    soldiers   ;ind    missionaries   who    ))iished   on    till    they 
discovered  the  .Mississippi."-'"'"     The  prince  leaving  his  large  party  at 
Albany,   Xew  ^■ork.  selected  a  few  friends  to  make  this  tri|)  with  iiini. 
they  thus  tniversing  the  route  v.-hicJi  the  prince's  father,  Louis  l'hilii)i)e. 
had  taken  when  an  exile  in  America.-''^     It  may  well  be  believed  that 
upon  the  beginning  of  his  trip  the  prince  sought  the  name  and  address 
of   some   ])erson    resident   among   the    western    Indians.    rii)e    in    years 
and  ready  with  reminiscences,  with  whom  he  could  converse.'-^ '     Cer- 
tain  it  is  that  upon  boarding  the  Columbus  for  his  tour  around  the 
lakes  he  avowed  to  Cai)tain   Shook  bis  errand  and  coupled   with  the 
information  an  earnest  request  that  the  captain   would  direct  him  t  > 
some  aged  person  residing  along  his  route  who  might  possibly  have 
persona!  recollection  of  his  father's  trip,  or,  such  failing,  some  person 
of  'a  younger  generation  who  might  know  of  it  by  hearsay.     The  cap- 
tain  whose  vessel  plied  regularly  between   the  ijorts  along  th'i  lakes 
knew  Eleazer  and  mentioned  his  name  to  the  prince. -'-' 

Meanwhile  F.leazer  Williams  bad  learned  at  St.  Regis  of  the 
prince's  contemplated  journey.  Of  his  desire  for  an  expert  in  Indian 
habits,  one  familiar  with  Indian  history,  one  who  mayhap  knew  his 
father,  Eleazer  also  learned,  perhaps  by  letter  from  friends  in  Xew 
\  ork.  for  his  reputation  ;is  a  schol.ir  in  Indian  affairs  was  a  score  of 
years  old.  ])crh;ii)s  not  until  be  reached  .Mackinaw.  However  this 
may  be.  alert  for  exciting  episodes,  he  hurriedly  quit  St.  Regis  and 
journeying  in  liaste.  anticipated  I  lie  prince  and  his  reiimie  and  was 
standing  on  the  wharf  at  .Mackinaw  when  the  Columbus  reacheil  that 
port  October    iS.    1841. '-'■■• 

1    .summarize    from    ■/'/((•    Lost    Priucc    the    .iccount    of    wli.ii    tli^n 


lilis.     I'rln.f.   ,1(.  .Iiiiiivill.'s    .Miirmii'^,    1. 

2(;!>.     riimo  ilp  .iDliivnic'.s   Miiin.ik-s.   L"*!". 

2711.     .Martin's    I'ihtowikmI    lliipsliurfr.   87. 

:i71.     ItciluMtsi.ii's    \ms\    iif  ll:c   Itiiiiiiiiin    SIdi'v.    I'liiniiiii's.    II.    11.    s.,    'Ci. 

'2Vi.     .Marliu's    t'ncniHiii'cl   irii|isliiii^'.   S7. 

;;7;!.  Iliinsdir^  TIk.  I^,s(  I'linr...  .'!70.  r  am  linJiiUMl  t.  dlsmisl  KiIk  ilale  as  n 
f.'W  (lays  ((K,  ..ally.  Imt  caniidi  vft  piovc  it  winri?.  I!nl  li  Is  coniij  \v  nor.  ,  orr  el 
than  111."  yi'ar  ls.-,4.  k'iv.n  in  ll.iip.T-  Itool;  ,,r  Fa,  1.;.  'xv\,  ji„  rh,.  ilni'  ui  tli  ■  I'  In  i.'s 
visil   1(1  (iiocri  lliiv. 


HIS  FOHERUNNERU,  HIM.StJLF. 


17<J 


transpired,  .is  Mr.  Hanson  secured  tlio  information  in  conversation 
witJi  Ek-azer  Williams  on  Dccfml.cr  7,  185J.  and  as  contained  in 
jonrnals  wliicli  somewhat  later  he  i)roduced  for  the  inspection  oi  Mr. 
Hanson .-"' 

While    Kieazer    was   standing   un    the    wharf  and   the   prince    and 
companions  having  gone  ashore  were  viewing  the  sights,  Jo'mi  Sliook. 
the     captain     of     tiie     vessel,     ai.proaching     F.leazer     asked     ,iim     if 
he     were    not      going     on      to      (irccn      Bay.      fur      the      prince      dv 
Joinville     had     I.een     makinR    in(|niries    i(,r   a    .Mr.    Williams,    and    he 
Cainain     Shook,     had     told     the     prince     that     snch     a     m:in     lived 
at   (;reen    Bay.     Conscqnently,    when    the   prince   re-huarded   the    ship, 
Eleazer  took  i)assage.     As  the   vessel   i)Mccedcd.   Ciptiin   .Sh„„k    lold 
the   prince   that    p:ieazer    was  on   l)i)ard   and    he   l.roiij^ht    the    two   tn 
an   acquaintance.     Quoting   Eleazer's  Journal:     "I   was   sitt  ul-  at   the 
time  on  a  barrel.     The  prince  not  oidy  started  with  evident  atnl  invol- 
untary suri)rise  when  he  saw  me  hut  there  was  a  great  agitation  in  his 
face  and  manner— a  slight  paleness  and  a  quivering  of  the  lip— which  [ 
could  not  helj)    remarking  at   the   time,   hut    which    struck   m-'   more 
forcihly  afterwards,    in   connection    with    the   whole    train    of   .ircum- 
stances,   and   hy   contrast    with   his  usual    self-possessed    manner.      He 
then  shook   me  earnestly  and   respectfully  hy  the   hand   and   drew   mc 
innnedi.ately  into  conversation."     .\fter  tlie  dinner   which    I'-Jeazer  i)o- 
litely  declined  to  eat  at  the  same  private  table  with  the  prince  and  his 
suite,  conversation   passed  between  them  on  early   French   settlements 
in    America   and    on    the    much    lanunled    loss    of    Canada    to    I'rance. 
Until  late   in   the  mght,  all  the  ne.xt   morning  and  until  three   in   the 
afternoon,   when   the   vessel   reached   Cnvii    Hay,   they  talked  together. 
Upon    landing    the    prince    went    to    the    Astor    House    and    statinj,' 
that  he  must  leave  the  ne.xt  day  .r  the  day  following,  begged   Eleazer 
to  take  ui)  his  (piarters  :it  the  hotel.      But    Kieazer  preferred  to  go  to 
the    home    of   his    laiher-in-law   and    returned    in    the    evening    to    the 
prince.      The   latter    made    himself   alone    by    dismissing    an    attendant 
although   the   carousing  of   his   suite  could   be   heard    in   an  adjoining 
room.      The    i)rince    then    stated    that    "he    had    a    communication    to 
make  to  me  of  a  very  serious  n;itin-e  as  concerned  himself  and  of  the 
List  imi)ortance  to   mc— that   it   was  one  in   which   no  others   were   in- 
terested, and  therefore  before  proceeding  further,  he  wished  to  obtain 
some  ])le(lge  of  secrecy,  some  promise  that  I  would  not  reveal  to  anv 


one   what    he    w 


;is    gomtr   to 


;av. 


(inally   pledged    his    1 


Xaturallv    Eleazer    dei 


nnirred 


lonor 


to  say.  i)rovided  there  was  notl 


not    to   reveal    wh.it    the    prince    w: 


im 


igned  a   promise  to   that   effect.      'It 
dd 


u  in  it  prejudicial  to  anv< 


but 
,'oinK 
id   he 


was    \ague   and    general,    I'or    I 
would   not   tie  myself  down    to   .ibsolute   secrecy   but    left   the   matter 


271.     Hi\ri.S(iir.s  The    Ix.st    I'll ■,    a,">(i,   ;!(i4. 


Is 


If 


II 


180 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


fl 


I'    i  i  i 


1  H 


1: 


i:iH: 


Jl 


i; 


<l 


conditional."  The  prince  then  told  Eleazer  that  he,  the  latter,  was 
of  foreign  descent,  was  born  in  Europe  and  was  the  son  of  a  king. 
He  added,  "You  have  suffered  a  great  deal,  and  have  been  brought 
very  low,  but  you  have  not  suffered  more,  or  been  more  degraded 
than  my  father,  who  was  long  in  exile  and  poverty  in  this  country; 
but  there  is  this  difference  between  him  and  you,  that  he  was  all  along 
aware  of  his  high  birth,  whereas  you  have  been  spared  the  knowledge 
of  your  origin."  The  narrative  proceeds:  "When  the  prince  had 
said  this  I  was  much  overcome  and  thrown  into  a  state  of  mind  which 
you  can  easily  imagine.  In  fact  I  hardly  knew  what  to  do  or  say,  and 
my  feelings  were  so  nuich  excited  that  I  was  like  one  in  a  dream 
and  much  was  said  between  us  of  which  I  can  give  buc  an  indistinct 
account.  However,  I  remember  I  told  him  his  communication  was 
so  startling  and  unexpected,  that  he  must  forgive  me  for  being  in- 
credulous, and  that  really  I  was  'between  two.'  'What  do  you  mean,' 
he  said,  'by  being  "between  two"?'  I  replied  that  on  the  one  hand  it 
scarcely  seemed  to  me  he  could  believe  what  he  said,  and  on  the 
other  I  feared  he  might  be  under  some  mistake  as  to  the  person." 
The  prince  disclaimed  any  intention  to  trifle  with  Eleazer's  feelings 
and  stated  that  he  had  ample  proof  of  his  identity.  Before  granting 
Eleazer's  request  that  he  would  proceed  with  his  disclosure  the  prince 
produced  from  his  trunk  a  parchment  and  a  "governmental  seal  of 
France,  the  one  if  I  mistake  not.  used  under  the  old  monarchy." 
Eleazer  relates  that  as  soon  as  he  knew  the  whole  story,  "the  sight 
of  the  seal  put  before  me  by  a  member  of  the  family  of  Orleans  stirred 
my  indignation."  The  parchment  was  very  handsomely  written  in 
double  parallel  columns  of  French  and  English.  "I  continued  intently 
reading  and  considering  it  for  a  space  of  four  or  five  hours  ...  it 
was  a  solemn  abdication  of  the  crown  of  France  in  favor  of  Louis 
Philippe  by  Charles  Louis  who  was  styled  Louis  XVIL,  king  of 
France  and  Navarre  with  all  accompanying  names  and  titles  of 
honor,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  old  French  monarchy."  As  a 
return  for  this  sacrifice,  Eleazer  was  to  receive  a  princely  estal)lishment 
either  in  France  or  in  America  and  the  restoration  of  all  the  private 
property  of  the  royal  family,  or  its  equivalent,  confiscated  by  the  French 
Revolution  or  in  any  other  way.  After  much  reflection  Eleazer  in- 
formed the  Prince  that  lie  could  not  barter  away  the  rights  pertaining 
to  him  by  his  birth  and  sacrifice  the  interests  of  his  family  and  that 
he  could  ;rivc  the  prince  only  the  answer  which  de  Provence  gave  to 
the  ambassador  of  Napoleon  at  Warsaw,  "Though  I  am  in  poverty 
and  exile  I  will  not  sacrifice  my  honor."  "The  prince  upon  this 
assumed  a  loud  tone  and  accused  mo  of  ingratitude  in  trampling  on 
the  overtures  of  the  king,  his  father,  who,  he  said,  was  actuated  in 
making  the  proposition,  more  by  feelings  of  kindness  and  pity  toward> 
me  than  bv  any  other  ooiKideration.    <ince   his  claim  to   the   French 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


181 


throne  rested  on  an  entirely  different  basis  to  mine,  viz.,  not  that  ot 
hereditary  descent,  but  of  popular  election.  When  he  spoke  in  this 
strain  I  spoke  loud  also,  and  said,  that  as  he,  by  his  disclosure,  had 
put  ine  in  the  position  of  a  superior,  I  must  assume  that  position,  and 
frankly  say  that  my  ind'^nntion  was  stirred  by  the  memory  that  one  of 
the  family  of  Orleans  had  imbrued  his  hands  in  my  father's  blood-^' 
and  that  another  now  wished  to  obtain  from  me  an  abdication  of  the 
throne.  When  I  spoke  of  superiority,  the  Prince  immediately  assumed 
a  respectful  attitude  and  remained  silent  for  several  minutes.  It  had 
now  grown  very  late  and  we  parted  with  a  request  from  him  that  I. 
would  reconsider  the  proposal  of  his  father,  and  not  be  too  hasty  in 
my  decision.  I  returned  to  my  father-in-law's,  and  the  next  day  saw 
the  prince  again  and  on  his  renewal  of  the  subject  gave  him  a  similar 
answer.'"  Before  he  went  away  the  Frenchman  said  "Though  we  part 
I  hope  we  part  friends."  Upt.m  whatever  terms  they  parted  they  never 
met  again. 

Now  around  this  narrative  as  a  center  divers  observations  cluster: 

I.  It  seems  remarkable  that  if  the  object  of  the  prince  in  coming 
to  America  was  to  obtain  this  renunciation,  he  should  go  more  than  a 
thousand  miles  from  his  vessel  t<i  secure  it.  Eleazer  Williams  was  in 
the  East  and  the  place  of  his  sojourn  was  accessible,  and  it  seems 
ludicrous  that  for  a  purpose  so  weighty  the  prince  and  the  priest 
should  race  across  one-third  of  the  span  of  (he  continent  to  meet  in  a 
tavern  in  Green   Bay. 

II.  This  astounding  fact  of  l"".leazer's  history,  making  as  it  did 
if  true  h\^  wife  the  blood  queen  of  France  and  his  son  the  dauphin, 
he  never  revealed  to  his  wife  and  son.  Twelve  years  after  the  prince 
visited  Green  Bay,  when  the  story  of  this  claimed  disclosure  had  for 
a  long  while  been  public  property,  a  friend  of  Mrs.  Williams  who  had 
read  in  Putnam's,  Ihn'c  U'c  a  Bourbon  Among  Us?  and  I'lic  Bour- 
bon Question,  related  the  story  to  her.-""  At  this  time,  in  1853, 
Eleazer  had  finally  abandoned  Green  Bay  and  never  saw  his  family 
again  to  explain  his  prolonged  silence  upon  a  fact  so  momentous. 
But  one  can  imagine  Mrs.  Williams  reflecting  upon  her  husband's 
half-formed  French  speech  and  the  many  other  evidences  she  must 
have  possessed  of  his  Indian  origin,  and  deciding  that  his  silence  to 
her  was  another  evidence  of  his  astuteness.  Notwithstanding  the  ig- 
norance of  his  wife  ami  son  until  1853.  Eleazer  stated  to  Mr.  Hanson 
in  1851,  "I  am  convinced  of  my  royal  descent;  so  arc  my  family.  The 
idea  of  royalty  is  in  our  minds  and  we  will  never  relinquish  it."-^^. 


27,'.  tlcfoi'i'IiiK  to  (lie  Duko  of  Orloanf!,  fntlior  of  IjiiuIs  riilllpiic,  who  voted  fur 
tlio  (lentil  of  Lrnula   XVI.     Ijuinartlnc's  Girondists,  II.,  350. 

27ti.  nnipcr'n  Aildltloiml  Nolos,  Wis.  Ill.'it.  Coll.,  VIII..  ."ii!";  Cndpn's  The 
Mj-Rteiy  of  IIIb  IJfc.  In  Yfinowlno's  News.  Soptcniber  19,  ISStt. 

27T.     Ilnnsnn's  Tlio  I/nst  I'rlnoo.  340. 


1 


1 1 


182 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


% 


Hi 


1  i  J*    ' 

«1 


III.  The  most  natural  action  lor  one  wliose  affiliation  has  been 
attacked,  whose  beliefs  as  to  his  paternity  and  maternity  have  been 
rudely  jostled,  is  to  consult  forthwith  the  persons  he  had  supposed 
to  be  his  parents.  But  no  such  thing  did  Eleazer  Williams.  In  1851. 
when  his  mother  was  summoned  before  dc  Loriniier  to  testify  as  to 
his  parentaf^e  she  learned  for  the  first  time,  and  not  from  her  son,  that 
he  was  claiming  another  ancestry.  Strange  and  inexplicable  mystery 
of  reticence!  A  person  is  announced  to  be  Louis  XVII.,  the,  uncrowned 
king  of  France  and  Navarre,  and  his  wife,  and  son,  those  whom  all 
men  believe  to  be  his  parents,  learn  of  the  announcement  a  decad;- 
afterward  from  the  lips  of  strangers!  Eleazer  was  very  careful  that 
this  story  should  not  become  wide-spread  until  his  father  had  died 
or  become  too  decrepid  to  wreak  vengeance  upon  the  slanderers  of 
his  family.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  true  explanation  of  Eleazer's 
protracted  silence  concerning  this  alleged  disclosure  lies  in  the  survival 
of  his  father.  And  in  this  connection  I  cannot  but  condemn  those 
who  state  that  Thomas  Williams  never  claimed  Eleazer  to  be  any  more 
than  his  adopted  son.-'-'*  This  statement  is  grossly  unjust  to  that  ex- 
cellent soldier  and  good  man.  Doubtless  Thomas  never  did  "claiin" 
Eleazer  to  be  his  son;  most  fathers  do  not  "claim"  their  sons — tlu- 
paternity  goes  without  claiming;  but  that  Thomas  ever  denied  the 
fatherhood  of  Eleazer — much  as  he  might  blush  to  admit  it— has  not  a 
mote  of  evidence  to  sustain  it. 

IV.  The  whole  story  of  the  disclosure  and  requested  abdication 
is  iidierently  improbable.  It  is  improbable  that  Louis  Philippe  would 
entrust  such  a  mission  to  a  youth  of  twenty-two;  it  is  improbable  that 
if  Eleazer  was  the  dauphin,  and  was  shut  off  from  all  the  world  in 
the  Wisconsin  woods,  and  was  ignorant  of  his  magnificent  ancestry 
and  was  likeiy  never  to  learn  it — it  is  improbabl'\  I  say,  that  even 
Orleans  princes  would  deliberately  seek  him  out  and  reveal  to  him 
that  very  thing  which  would  make  their  thrones  unstable,  their 
crowned  heads  uneasy.  Weri'  there  not  pretenders  enough,  si)rinkled 
a'lout  Europe  to  be  thorns  in  his  side,  that  Louis  Philippe  should 
deliberately  go  about  to  discover  the  re;d  heir  in  America,  to  be  a  «till 
deeper  sting? 

V.  A  noticeable  circtmistancc  about  the  iiUerview  between  the 
prince  and  Eleazer  was  the  extreme  astonishment  attribtUed  to  the  lat- 
ter at  the  disclosure — an  astonishment  so  .absorbing  tiiat  I'^leazer  neg- 
lected to  dcinand  from  his  informant  the  customary  and  necessary 
prnois  of  his  remarkable  assertions.  .\ny  person  supposing  himself  to  be 
sinii)ly  ,1  C'aughnawaga  Indian  would  develop  ;istonisIimeiU  on  learning 
iliat  he  is  the  representative  of  the  longest  royal  lint,  in  Europe.  Ehazrr 
himself  speaks  of  his  timidity  and  bashfulness  a-^  traits  of  one  "who 


278.    Illstnrlpal  Mngnzlno,  Octohor,  1850,  323. 


HIS  FOREMUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


183 


had  always  considered  himself  of  such  obscure  rank."27»  And  yet,  not- 
withstanding this  astonishment,  timidity  and  bashfulness,  it  is  a  fact 
that,  three  years  before  this  interview.  Eleazer  had  claimed  to  be  that 
very  person  concerning  his  idenity  with  whom  he  is  now  filled  with 
so  much  surprise.  In  or  about  1838  Eleazer  entered  the  office  of 
George  H.  Haskins,  editor  of  Tlic  Buffalo  Extyrcss  and  confided  to  him 
under  the  seal  of  the  most  profound  secrecy  that  he.  Eleazer,  was  not 
what  he  appeared  to  be  but  was  in  reality  the  dauphin  of  France,  men- 
tioning his  early  idiocy,  his  sanative  fall  into  Lake  George  and  the 
miraculous  restoration  of  his  mcmory.^so  -When  therefore  the  prince 
revealed  to  him  the  same  ancestry  Eleazer  ought  not  to  have  mani- 
fested or  even  experienced  any  astonishment,  but  should  have  received 
the  news  with  the  dignity  and  reserve  of  one  who  had  long  become 
accustomed  to  tlic  information.  Just  here  it  is  worth  while  to  notice 
that  after  this  whisper  to  Mr.  Haskins.  and  while  the  prince  and 
Eleazer  were  chatting  on  Captain  SIiook"s  vessel.  Eleazer  told  the 
prince  that  when  Montcalm  fell  at  Quebec  that  gallant  Frenchman  left 
his  sword  to  an  Iroquois  and  then  expired  hi  that  Iroquois'  arms: 
that  he,  Eleazer,  was  a  relative  of  that  Iroquois,  and  that  his,  Eleazer's. 
mother  was  an  Indian  woman. -■'*i  Thus  did  this  remarkable  personage 
change  his  ancestors  as  his  whim  suggested;  thus  did  he  establish 
himself  an  utterly  irresponsible  informant. 

VI.  Among  many  slips  of  detail  I  notice  one:  Eleazer  tells  us 
that  after  talking  far  into  the  night  with  the  prince  both  separated 
to  meet  the  next  day.  But  the  difliculty  with  this  is  that  the  prince  did 
not  tarry  over  night  in  Green  Bay.  The  prince  writing  twelve  years 
afterward  states  that  he  remained  there  but  half  a  day-*-',  and  Dr. 
Butler  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin  prints  in  Tim  Xu- 
tioi!  that  de  Joinville  did  not  pass  the  night  in  Green  Bay.-""-'  To  the 
same  effect  is  the  testimony  of  ]\lrs.  Elizabeth  S.  Martin  who  met 
the  prince  upon  this  occasion  at  Green  Bay  and  who  in  a  hearty  and 
genial  old  age  still  survives.  She  has  recorded  that  the  prince  did  not 
remain  over  six  hours  in  Green  Bay  and  that  a  large  portion  of  this 
time  was  spent  at  the  toilette  in  preparation  for  a  reception  and  dinner 
at  which  Eleazer  Williams  and  Airs.  Martin  among  others  were 
present.  Imnu'iliately  .ifter  the  dinner  the  prince  started  on  his  ciiues- 
trian  tcnr.  tarrying  lor  the  night  at  the  house  of  John  McCarty,  four 
or  five  miles  beyond  Del'ere'-"*' — inste;ul  01  spending  the  hours  at  the 


270.  Uiiiisdirs  'I'lic  r^ist   I'l'lnco.  M2. 

'JSi*.  llKlMMtKon's  Tiio  Last  cii'  tlii>  ItinirlKHi   Slor.v.  I'liliiiiiu's.   It,   11.   .1..  Oil;   Dnp 

.Vdilllloiiiil    Notes,    Wis.    llisl.    CoU  ,    VIII..    MVJ. 

2.S1.  KansDirs  Tlio  I,(ist  fringe  M)T<.  4M. 

282.  Ilaiisdii's  Tlio  Ixist  rriiico,  40.1. 

2K\.  Itnll.r's  Tlio  Slor.v  m'  Umjs  XVJr..  in  Nati.in.   May  .11.    isot,    117. 

2Sl.  Mnrllli's   T'luniwiioil    Iluiislmr;.',    S7.    and    Dinpi  r's    .Nolo    !u    Ms. 


184 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


■I 


* 


!»)■ 


/ 


Astor  House  in  Green  Bay  begging  Eleazer  Williams  to  resign  the 
kingdom  of  France. 

VII.  But  what  said  the  other  party  to  this  interview?  Upon  tiic 
receipt  by  the  prince  de  Joinville  of  the  February,  1853,  number  of 
Putnam's  Magazine  containing  the  account  of  the  meeting,  tlie  dis- 
closure and  the  request  for  abdication,  the  prince  through  his  secretary 
addressed,  from  his  exile  home  in  Claremont,  Surrey,  England,  a 
letter  dated  February  9,  1853,  to  the  London  agent  of  Mr.  Putnam.  In 
this  communication  he  admitted  the  meeting,  and  the  conversation 
with  Eleazer  and  subsequent  correspondence  between  the  two  on 
matters  relating  to  the  Indians,  but  as  to  the  main  story  the  prince 
stamped  it  in  every  particular  as  a  work  of  the  imagination,  a  fable 
woven  wholesale,  a  speculation  upon  public  credulity.-^'  Mr.  Hanson, 
who  could  not  well  exclude  this  letter  from  The  Lost  Prince,  made 
an  efifort  to  blunt  its  point  and  counteract  its  force,  but  his  attempt 
was  feeble  and  unsatisfactory  and  this  denial  of  the  prince  so  compre- 
hensive and  so  emphatic  must  be  accepted  as  converting  Eleazer's 
story  into  the  wildest  fiction. 

VIII.  But  it  is  perhaps  not  astonishing  to  know  that  Eleazer 
Williams  did  not  believe  this  story  himself  and  so  stated  in  at  least 
two  instances.  After  the  appearance  of  The  Lost  Prince,  Eleazer  hap- 
pened to  meet  in  Baltimore  Charles  D.  Robinson  of  Green  Bay.  a 
friend,  and  tlic  editor  of  The  Green  Bay  Adrocate.  Mr.  Robinson  who 
knew  Eleazer  and  his  character  well,  said  to  Eleazer,  referring  to 
this  1)ook,  "I  don't  believe  there  is  a  word  of  trutli  in  it."  Eleazer 
broke  into  a  hearty  laugh,  seeming  to  appreciate  the  point,  and  replied. 
"Nor  do  I,  either."  So,  meeting  lus  longtinie  friend  Alexander  Grig- 
non,  Eleazer  asked  him  if  he  had  heard  anything  about  the  dauphin 
matter.  "Yes,  I  have."  was  the  reply,  with  a  laugh  and  manner  evinc- 
ing his  total  disbelief  of  the  story.  "It  is  not  me,"  continued  Eleazer 
with  a  disregard  of  grammar  tliat  would  Jiave  made  tlie  young  dauphin 
blush,  "they  wanted  it  so.  and  I  don't  care."-^«  Perliaps  the  true  in- 
wardness of  this  whok-sale  deception  woukl  be  disclosed  if  Eleazer 
had  stated  definitely  wliom  he  meant  by  they.  But.  if  FJeazer  liimself 
did  not  believe  this  tale,  the  rest  of  mankind— which  excludes  the 
writer  of  The  Story  of  Louis  ATV/.— may  be  pardoned  for  sliaring 
his  incredulity. 

IX.  Moreover,  belief  by  Eleazer  in  his  identity  with  ihc  dauphin 
would  liave  been  totally  inconsistent  with  his  conduct  and  admissions 
sul)se(|uent  to  1841.  Four  years  after  the  prince's  visit,  that  is  to  say 
in  1.S45.  Eleazer  assisted  in  preparing  a  memoir  of  his  great-grand- 
motiier,   Eunice  Williams;   in   1848  he  preached  historical  sermons  in 


I 


I'S."..     Hiinsan's  Tlio   Lost   I'rliHf,   4(>4. 

i;S(l.     Diiliier's  .VrMltlunnl   N.ilos    Wis.    Itisl.  Coll..    VIH..  307. 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


185 


Decrfiekl  on  the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  his  ancestor,  the  Rev. 
John  Willianis-s";  in  1845  he  Rave  his  pedigree  to  the  genealogist,  S. 
\V.  Williams,  M.  D.,  stating  therein  that  Thomas  Williams  was  his 
father,  also  writing,  "I  am  highly  pleased  to  learn  that  you  are  tracing 
out  the  genealogy  of  the  Williams  family  and  particularly  of  my  grand- 
father. Rev.  John  Williams";  in  October,  1846,  he  offered  to  lend  his 
l)ortrait  of  his  "grand.sirc",  the  Rev.  John  Williams,  to  the  uses  of 
the  contemplated  genealogy;  in  September,  1847,  he  sent  to  the  gene- 
alogist Williams  a  portrait  of  hi,=  "grandfather  Williams";-*^  on  Janu- 
ary 18.  1850,  in  furthering  the  claim  of  Mary  Ann  Williams  for  the 
services  of  her  husband  in  the  war  of  181J  Eleazer  Williams  swore 
ui)on  oath  as  follows:  "That  1  was  in  the  secret  of  the  United  States 
in  the  war  which  commenced  in  1812  and  that  I  had  the  charge  and 
commanded  the  secret  corps  of  observation  on  the  northern  frontier 
during  the  said  war;  and  that  it  was  through  me  that  my  father, 
Thomas  Williams,  an  Iroquois  chief,  was  especially  invited,  in  behalf 
of  the  general  government  ....  to  join  the  American  stand- 
ard,"-*"^— all  these  admissions  of  conduct,  specct  and  oath  after  the 
prince  de  Joinville  had  solenmly  informed  Eleazer  that  he  was  not  a 
Williams  at  all  but  was  Louis  of  France,  the  seventeenth  of  that  name! 
X.  'Che  attitude  towards  each  other  of  both  prince  and  priest  sub- 
secpient  to  the  interview  indicates  that  no  momentous  subject  was  dis- 
cussed at  Green  Bay.  Soon  after  the  prince's  departure  Eleazer  sent 
him  a  paper  relating  to  Charlevoix  and  La  Salle.  The  prince's  courteous 
acknowledgment  shows  no  e\  idencc  of  any  secret  matter  between  them. 
Two  j-ears  later,  in  the  name  of  his  Indian  brethren.  I''leazer  sent 
through  the  i)rince  to  Louis  Philippe  ff)r  some  books.  The  books 
were  sent  with  a  letter  from  the  j)rince's  secretary  aimouncing  the 
king'.s  compliance.  A  delay  in  transit  brought  from  the  French  consul 
general  in  New  York  a  note  of  regret  that  he  "was  unable  before  to 
present  to  ]Mr.  Williams  the  enclosed  letter  and  the  box  of  l)ooks  sent 
by  the  king  of  the  French" — the  letter  being  the  one  from  the  prince's 
secretary.  The  matter  just  <|Uoted  is  the  foundation  for  the  story  of 
l''leazer  receiving  an  autograph  letter  from  Louis  Philippe— a  story  of 
which  I^leazer  boasted.  When  asked  to  exhiliit  this  autogr,i])h  letter 
it  was  lost.  The  reply  of  b.leazer  to  the  lettei-  from  the  prince  by  the 
hitter's  secretary  is  certainly  not  ])enned  by  one  who  lonsidered  himself 
placed  by  the  disclosures  made  at  (been  Hay  "in  the  position  of  ;i 
superior"  to  the  p'ince,  as  this  extract  will  show: 

.So  woll    |iloi\ac(l  am    I    witli    liio  liooks,   imd  so  lil^'h   iiii   niiliiloii   dn    I    ciilirlaiii   nt 
.voui'  Ko.viil   Illu'htU'sH'    lifiii'voloiii'i'  Mini    l"rlrnMslii|i   ii^    lo  riiihuldcii    iii"   t  i  n\\\n':\v  liffom 


2S7.     I{uliiM-|s(iii'<  'I'lrc    I.asI     iT    till'    UiMU-hiiii    Sloiv,    rmiiMin's.    II,    n,    s.,    !i| 
2SS.     Willliiiiis'  'riic  liodiM-ni.Ml   Caiitlv.".    ITT. 

2S;).     Ui'poil,   .lumiaiy    1(1.    ISriT,    llniisc   Ciiiiiinilli't'  on   Militai.v   .MTa'i'i,    i.ii    iiiiim 
Mar.v   .\iiii  Williams,  paui'  ."1.  :iHli  ('iiiii.'rc>s,  Tl  Inl   S  ss'on.    \u.   S'i. 


186 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


/ 


vel     as     n   theology.      If   It   is  not  asking   nn.l    int.mII«K   t,>,   much   upou    vour   U  ,yal 

It  should  be  stated  parenthetically  that  whenever  Eleazer  was 
called  upon  to  produce  original  documents-letters,  medals  or  what 
not-these  were  always  missing,  burned,  stolen,  mislaid,  among  his 
papers  at  some  other  place.  He  boasted,  for  example,  of  several  mis- 
sives from  French  bishops  and  cardinals  and  one  from  the  secretary 
of  Napoleon  III.,  all  enquiring  about  his  history.  Like  the  autograph 
letter  trom  Louis  Philippe  they  had  all  disappeared  201 

£leazcr-s  journals  were  as  useful  to  his  purpose  as  his  mvstcriously 
disappearmg  documents.  These  journals  consisted  of  she;ts  loosely 
stitched  together  so  that  the  insertion  of  leaves  containing  new  matter 

perScls'on'^s 'll!>  t  "'^  "'""'''  "'*'*'  r  ^^^^  '^'^-     I"^!^^'^.  for  some 
periods  of  his  hie  there  are  preserved  two  journals  differing  in  details 

of  events2»^-one  or  the  other  or  both  evidently  prepared  after  the 

incidents  recorded  and  to  serve  some  purpose.    Eleazer  could  produce 

journals  as  he  did  scars. 

XI.  A  curious  phenomenon  is  to  be  observed  about  the  expres- 
sions and  reHections  attributed  to  the  prince  during  his  interview 
vvith  Eleazer-that  they  are  identical  in  sentiment,  that  they  are  often 
clothed  in  exactly  the  same  language,  with  ideas  and  opinions  contained 
."  he  journals  ot  Eleazer.  of  dates  long  anterior  to  1841.  Especiallv 
■s  tins  true  as  to  the  remarks  concerning  the  aid  rendered  by  Franc'e 
o  America  during  our  revolution  and  concerning  the  connection  be- 
tween the  French  revolution  and  the  misfortunes  of  Louis  XVI  -"■■^ 
Ins  ,s  easily  explicable.  When  Eleazer  in  ,848,  either  alone  or  with 
the  aid  of  a  fnend  was  stealthily  launching  his  imposture,  he  found 
m  h,s  own  early  meditations  satisfactory  material  for  the  made-up  con- 
versations ot  the  prince  with  himself.  About  these  were  grou,)e<l 
ti>o  other  mcidents-the  prince's  expression  of  astonishment  at  see- 
.ng  the  Hourbon  lineaments  on  Eleazer's  face,  the  humilitv  which 
w.,nl,l  not  permit  the  priest  to  dine  at  the  same  table  ^vith  the 
prince,  the  mght  meeting  at  the  Astor  House,  the  rev  elation,  the 
bn!,e  the  indignant  rejection,  the  over-night  reconsiderati.-n  the  re- 
"cwa  .,t  the  refusal,  the  final  parting-all  clustered  into  a  s.-nsa- 
tiiinai,    II    not    into   .a   coherent,    narrative. 

^Xll.      It    nee.l    not   elicit    suri,risc   that    Eleazer    Williams    as    long 

-"•"'■     '' '•"'""'''   ''■'"•  '•^"''    "'■   l!..„rl,„M   .Stor.v,    I'uln;u.rs.    II,   n     .      iMi 

-.y..     itoln.rt son's  Th,.  1,„m    „r  ()„.   ls,M,rl,„M   .Slory,    I'„tnmH-M.    M,    n    s      w\-    II. n- 

21I1-.     i{,.lMM-tson-.  Tl„.  L,,s,  „r  ,1,.,  ]i,H,rl.on  Story,   I'utn.un's,   II     n    s     imI 
2m.     I!ol„.,lso.i's  Tl„.  U.sl   Ml-  ,1,,.   |i„„rlM,n   .story.    IMlnmn's.    II.    „,   s.     i..-,. 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


187 


.iKo  as  TS38,  had  declared  himself  the  dauphin.  He  enjoyed  the  privi- 
lege not  accorded  to  those  who  live  a  century  after  the  episode  in  the 
Temple,  of  existing  in  the  age  that  produced  dauphins.  Men  far  less 
acute  and  cunning  than  Eleazer  had  palmed  themselves  off  upon  the 
public  as  the  heir  of  St.  Louis,  had  been  the  objects  of  anxiety  and 
-DJicitude,  had  even  engaged  the  attention  of  the  daughter  of  Louis 
XVL  While  dauphin-meteors  had  been  shooting  athwart  the  Euro- 
pean firmament,  while  one  at  least  was  still  shining  with  tinsel  lustre, 
should  not  one  pretender  glitter  with  bright  effulgence  in  the  western 
horizon?     Should   not   Eleazer  Williams  be   that  pretender? 

After  the  visit  of  the  prince  tf)  Green  Bay,  but  little  in  the  life 
of  Eleazer  re(iuircs  notice  for  several  years.  He  was  almost  entirely 
liisassoclated  from  the  Indians  but  was  much  occupied  in  pressing 
against  the  government  claims  growing  out  of  their  removal  to  the 
western  country.  In  1846  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pel among  the  Indians  and  others  in  North  America  appropriated 
numey  for  his  support  as  a  missionarj',  but  after  two  years  this  stipend 
was  withdrawn,  the  result  not  justifying  its  continuance.-"^  In  1850 
he  went  east  to  proffer  his  services  for  the  removal  of  the  Seneca  In- 
vlians  from  Indian  Territory  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi. 
His  offer  was  declined.  Not  returning  to  his  family^""  he  took  up  his 
residence  at  St.  Regis,  where  he  commenced  a  school  and  where  he 
li.id  some  kind  of  missionary  appointment  from  the  Diocesan  Society 
of  New  York  and  from  the  Boston  Unitarian  Society.--'*'  Upon  the 
recommendation  of  his  neighbors  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel  renewed  its  appropriation,  but  in  1853  this  was  withdrawn, 
owing  to  his  protracted  absences  from  duty.207 

Mis  home  was  on  the  St.  Regis  reservation  for  the  remainder  of 
lii>  life,  although  he  frequently  traveled.  It  was  in  the  autumn  of  1851. 
while  on  a  iourney.  that  Mr.  Ifansoti.  who  had  read  of  the  claim  for 
I'^leazer  in  I'lic  \'cw  York  Courier  and  liiiquircr,  made  his  acquaint- 
.mce.-'"*  Through  Mr.  Hanson's  energetic  espousal  Eleazer  was  con- 
\erti.(l  from  a  secret,  surreptitious  pretender  into  an  open  declarator 
of  his  royal  position.  Under  !Mr.  Hanson's  tuition  he  became  a  genu- 
inr  monarch,  issued  manifestos,   signed   L.   C.   to  his   documents,  re- 


if 

;     ■ 


:.''.M.     HuiitiMiti's    Kloiizoi-    ^Vllli,•ilus,    -J.V.t. 

-it.'i.  Mol'orp  Ipnviug;  WIhcousIii  EIi-hzit  left  wiili  Mrs.  Daulcl  lirowu  of  SliDboygar 
.1  imiiiilfijr  tc»  1)0  kt'pt  by  li'T  until  he  should  nrdrr  it  soiit  to  liliii.  lie  c'ainied  it  was 
,■1  iiiclnro  of  f/ouls  XVI.  mid  Mrs.  I'rown  says  thcrn  Is  a  strong  lllioncss  between  the 
line  in  the  paint iiiK  and  that  of  Kloazer  Williams.  The  pkture  Is  now  .iwnod  by  Mrs. 
Ilrown's  dmiBhter,  Mrs.  I.  H.  Jones  of  .shelioygnn.  .Mrs.  Hrown,  who  was  born  August 
•Jl",  lS(«t,  is  still  livlnj,'.  U'tter  from  Mrs.  Brown,  May  12,  ISOti;  Wiiihl's  Tlie  Old 
Wliltf   Clnircli,  !>. 

U!»tl.     ItolM'rtsoir,«i  'rii.'  r.ast  of  the   HourlMni  ,S|ory,   !18. 

21t7.     IIiMilonns    lOleazer   Williams.   lltMt. 

L'ii^,      11,'iii-iitrs   Th.'    Lost    I'rincc.   .".'lli. 


183 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


N4 


t 


w 


j^j. 


M 


ceivcd  notes  phrased  Your  Most  Gracious  Majesty-f'»  and  promised 
his  friends  passage  to  France  in  a  national  ship  when  he  should  ob- 
tain his  own/'soo 

I  have  said  that  at  first  Eleazer  was  a  secret  pretender.  I  mean  that 
the  first  obtrusion  of  hiniscli  as  a  dauphin  was  in  ])rivate  ways,  by  per- 
sonal   inlcrviow.    by    anonymous    letter,    by    fictitious    signature      In- 
stapa-ts  oi  h;s  .'i.i'iliod  h;,\c  1  ern  given.     Instances  Ivrthcr  follow:  D- 
Vinton  writes  that  in  .August,  1844,  while  he  and  Eleazer  were  in  the 
parlor  of  the  residence  of  ]\Irs.  O.  H.  Perry  at  Newport,  the  writer's 
attention  was  attraccd  by  the  gesticulations  and  other  antics  of  Eleazer 
who  was  examining  a   volume   01    engravings  and  accidentally  came 
ujjon  a  print  of  Simon,  the  dauphin's  cruel  jailer  in  the  Temple.     Dr. 
Vinton  says,  "I  saw  Williams  sitting  upright  and  stiff  in  his  chair,  his 
eyes  fixed  and  wide  one:,,  ins  Hands  clenched  on  the  table,  his  whole 
frame  shaking  and  trembling  as  if  paralysis  had  seized  him.    .    .    Point- 
ing to  the  wood-cut  he  said,  'That  image  has  haunted  me  day  and  night, 
as  long  as  I  can  remember.    'Tis  the  horrid  vision  of  my  dreams;  what 
is  it?    Who  is  it?'  "    The  leaf  was  turned  and  Simon's  name  was  on  the 
leverse.^'oi    From  this  incident  those  who  did  homage  to  Eleazer  drew 
sure  conclusions;  but  I  have  no  doubt  the  scene  was  a  very  clever  bit 
of  play  and  if  Dr.  Vinton  is  not  mistaken  in  the  year,  Eleaze  -  was  en- 
gaged longer  than  has  been  believed  in  working  up  his  imposture.     It 
should  be  added  that  Eleazer  is  credited  with  the  same  theatrical  piece 
of  acting  about  six  years  later  at  the  residence  of  Professor  Day  of 
Northampton— there  was  another  pi-ture  of  Simon,    Eleazer   greatly 
excited,   and   the   ejaculation    "Cood    God,    I    know   that    face,    it   has 
haunted  me  through  lifc."^o-    I  have  no  doubt  that  if  the  matter  could 
be  th(M-oughly  ferreted,  it  would  be  found  that  the  half-breeds  Skenon- 
dogh  and   Eleazer  arranged  the  story  and  provided  for  the  affidavit 
which  was  taken  so  formally  on  June  14,  185,^.  in  which  Skenondogh 
IS  made  to  swear  that  he  was  present  at  Ticonderoga  in   1795  when 
two  Frenchmen  delivered  an  imbecile  and  sickly  boy  to  Thomas  Wil- 
liams and  that  Eleazer  was  that  boy.^'"-    The  st()ry  of  the  taking  of  the 
affidavit  and  of  the  actions  of  Eleazer— for  by  a  curious  coincidence  he 
happened  to  be  in  New  York  at  the  tinu— before  the  notary,  all  display 
the  artful  and  cunning  methods  of  an  artful  and  cunning  nian.-"* 

Another  way  in  which  he  brought  himself  into  notice  by  the  under- 


am.  Kobortsoirs  TIic   ImM    of   llif  l!.>m'lM>ii   Slory,    I'liiiiiiiii's.    II.    n.    s.,    !ili. 

aiK>.  Lptt«i',   .\|,iil  {•>.    1M!)C,.    fro,,,  d.orj;,.   .-^luldon  „f  bccilifl.!.    Miit^s. 

;!0l.  Vliit.m's  I-oiils  XVII.  iMiiI   Klfiizff  WilU:iiiis.   ri,liium's  II,  „.  .s.  a.tl. 

302.  IIaiis,)ii's  Tlii>  I>mt   I'liiiii..  .•).Vl:    lliins,,,,-:,   ii„vi'   We  u    itdi 

I'litiiaiir.x.  I,  •J.W:    IIiim.K.ii's  Kli'iiz,.,'  Williams,    2l«. 

;;(>;i.  Haiis(jii's  'V\n-   1.1,81    I'llMi,.,    177,   4ii,-,. 

.'iOl.  Vinton's   l...,iU    XVII.   anil    VM-.xv,-v   Williams.    I'liti'ani's.    II.    n. 


idurtiaii   Amoiifc-  Us? 


s.  3::tl. 


HIS  FORHRrNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


189 


ground  plan  is  cxiiibitcd  by  the  following  letter  written  luider  a  false 
name  to  a  Mr.  Reed  of  Buffalo  in  August,  1850: 

It  so  l.aj.pcncl  timt  I  wus  at  the  Eagle  Hotel  in  n.Uudolphh,  wl.on  v.u  und 
•Mr  AMlllauiH  (the  danphln  of  Franoe)  were  there.  Cnrl,  «i,y,  as  well  as  havlii^-  taken 
m.  Intorcst  in  tl.e  l.lstor.v  of  the  unfnrtnniito  Prince,  h..s  led  nw  t,  a  Kir  a-.  ,vo  ,  .ml 
u«k  y,,u  to  have  the  goodness  to  iufonn  .no  if  you  are  In  poa.«e.8l„u  of  any  historical 
facts  in   relation   to   this   wonderful  niau. 

Aonther  instanee  of  the  same  kind  a  little  earlier  in  time-  Then- 
appeared  in  the  I'mtcd  States  Magazine  ami  Democratic  Reviezv  for 
July,  1849,  what  seemed  to  be  an  anonymous  review  of  a  book  entitled 
History  of  the  Jhuiphin.  Son  of  I.onis  the  Sixteenth  of  France,  by 
H.  B.  Ely,  or  as  given  in  the  Table  of  Contents,  N.  B.  Ely.  The 
review  includes  quite  an  account  of  Eleazer  Williams  and  the  different 
prools  of  his  royal  extraction  and  is  so  much  in  the  style  of  Eleazer 
that  .Mr.  Robertson  was  fully  justified  in  suspecting  his  authorship 
When  It  IS  added  that  no  such  book  ever  existed  as  .Mr.  Ely  purported 
to  review  and  that  no  such  man  as  II.  B.  Ely  or  N.  B.  Ely  ever  again 
arose  during  the  Williams  controversy,  although  sought  for  and  asked 
to  present  Inmself.  enough  has  been  .said  to  expose  the  guileful  Indian 
hand  of  the  hero  of  this  paper. '•"■■■ 

The  Bcllanger  incident  was  a  fiction  of  Colonel  Henry  E  East- 
man of  Green  Bay.  In  or  after  1847,  Colonel  Eastman,  a  lawyer  and  a 
prominent  citizen,  was  an  intimate  and  confidential  friend  of  Eleazer 
Wdliams.  Interested  in  Erench  history  and  in  the  decay  of  Bourbon 
power  Colonel  Eastman  wrote  a  romance  l)ase(l  on  the  misfortunes 
of  young  Louis  and  made  Eleazer  Williams  the  chief  character.  The 
manuscripts  from  time  to  time  were  loaned  to  him  to  read  at  his 
leisure.  Unknown  to  the  author  the  parts  were  copied  and  returned 
An  account  of  the  death  in  Xew  Orleans  of  the  laithful  adherent,  Bcl- 
langer. who  had  brought  the  dauphin  to  America  and  placed  him  in 
the  charge  of  Thomas  Williams,  was  one  of  the  features  of  this  ro- 
mance, as  it  is  one  of  the  features  of  ^[r.  Hanson's  romance.;">o 
To  the  amazement  ,,|  Colonel  Ea.stman.  his  story  with  the 
addition  of  some  aflidavits  and  other  s|)ecial  proofs,  not  necessary  to 
his^  imaginary  tale,  appeared  in  I'utuam's  Magazine.  Of  course  Elea- 
zer's  Journal  contained  the  matter,  of  c.iur>e  it  was  exhibited  to  Mr. 
Hanson    and    is    .inoted    iroiu    at    length.-"'-      The    information    of    the 

ail,-..     Itoljert.son's  The   Ijist   of  llii'   Uoiuiion   Story.    I'litnaiiis.    II,    n.   s.  OS 

.-Uh;.     ,^„,||1,s   Kloazer   Williams,   Wis.   Hist.   Coll.    VI.  aa7.     C.lon  d    Ka.stn.an   his 

' "  '"■'■*''"'  "f  '^'■'■''''  ''»>■  'H"l  "as  llouieniint-colonel  of  ih  ■  .Seeen<l  W  seori^in  eaxalr.- 

from  .\ove,„l,er.  1,S(M,  nntll  .luly,  IHM.  Ills  slalen„.nis  as  t  ,  this  tomau-..  are  in  putt 
••onllrm,.!  l.v  the  reeolUvtIou  of  Senator  Timothy  o.  Il„w,.  ,:f  Wisc.iisin  and  In  Rreat 
measure   liy   the  reicdiecHon   of  Coh.nel  .lanns   II.    II,, we  oi    Clii  atr... 

;t(>T.  Hanson's  The  Lost  I'rlnoe,  978.  Tlie  journal  is  ,hU,',l  March  lit.  1S4,8.  .Mr 
Koherlson  found  two  e,lill„ns  of  the  Journal  of  this  date,  exhll,itln«  liupo  tani  dffer- 
•  ni'i's.      Kolierts,m-s  The  Last  of  the  K,mili,:n  Story,   rutnain's.    II.   n.  s.   HO. 


V  II 


190 


ELEAZER  WILLIAMS. 


I'iil 


I 


kf  f- 


death  of  Bcllaiiger  was  conveyed  to  Eleazer,  the  Journal  states,  by 
letter  from  Thomas  Kimball  of  Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana.  The  name 
of  Mr.  Kimball  does  not  appear  again  in  Eleazer's  Journal,  the  orig- 
inal Kimball  letter  was  never  produced  for  inspection  and  Mr.  Han- 
son, although  he  went  to  New  Orleans  and  secured  some  very  incon- 
sequential affidavits,  was  obliged  to  confess  that  he  could  find  no  trace 
of  Bellanger.30* 

In  1853  in  February,  Mr.  Hanson  published  in  the  second  number 
of  I'utnam's  Magazine  the  sensational  paper.  Have  We  a  Bourbou 
.Imong  Us?  which  is  said  to  have  added  twenty  thousand  names  U< 
the  subscription  list  of  that  magazine.'^""'  Immediately  upon  the  arrival 
of  the  article  in  England,  appeared  the  prince  de  Joinvilk'"s  emphatii. 
denial  of  its  most  salient  feature,  and  Le  Ray  de  Chauniont's  correc- 
tion of  Hanson  so  far  as  the  lattt  r  had  mentioned  his  father.  As 
soon  as  the  first  article  appeared  attention  was  directed  where  nat- 
urally Eleazer's  attention  ought  to  have  been  first  directed — to  his 
mother,  Mary  Ann  Williams.  Of  course  much  excitement  was  aroused 
and  of  course  much  agitation  would  rind  its  way  to,  and  afifect.  the 
aged  mother.  On  March  28,  1853,  an  affidavit  in  English,  prepared 
by  Father  Marcoux,  was  presented  to  and  executed  by  her.  In  plaii; 
language  she  established  for  herself  the  doubtful  honor  of  being  Elea- 
zer Williams'  mother — thus  confirming  the  statement  which  she  had 
made  io  de  Lorimier  in  185 1  and  confirming  the  oath  of  Eleazer  Wil- 
liams himself  in  January,  1850.  As  this  affidavit  was  widely  published 
and  was  a  death  blow  to  Eleazer's  claims  there  was  need  to  counteract 
it.  This  was  attempted  by  means  of  an  affidavit  in  Iro(|uois  sworn  to 
by  Mary  Ann  Williams  on  July  8.  1853.  As  I  do  not  rest  my  judgment 
concerning  Eleazer's  claims  upon  either  of  these  aflidavits  I  do  no. 
deem  it  necessary  to  publish  them.-'""  As  to  the  latter,  however,  I 
wish  to  make  two  or  three  observations. 

I.  So  far  as  the  affiant  had  aught  to  do  with  it,  it  is  the  work  of 
a  person  considerably  over  ninety  years  of  age  who  was  so  distracted 
by  the  opponents  and  adherents  of  her  son  that  she  lust  what  little 
strength  of  intellect  a  monagenarian  might  have  otherwise  had.  Tlii-i 
remark  applies  though  in  less  degree  to  the  affidavit  of  March  28,  1853. 

II.  The  aftidavit  of  July  8.  1853,  was  written  by  the  person  most 
interested  in  its  contents — Eleazet  Williams.  This  is  provti  by  file 
fact  that  the  original  draft  of  the  document  in  his  handwriting  with 
erasures  and  interlineations  and  showing  how  gradually  it  was  l)uilt 
up,  was   found  among  his   ))ap(  r-  after  his  deatii,  and   l)v   tlie   further 


.108.    Hanson's  Tlic   Umt   l"iin.o.    i;i(i. 

309.  IliintOdU's  Klcnzcr  Wll;i:iiii-.  :."rj 
.June.    18.S2.    14S. 

;itO.  Tlicy  lire  piiiiliil  in  iriinwii's  Tl, 
KIcilz.M-   WiHiiUiis.    Wi<.    !lisl.    C.ll.    VI.   :;I7.    .'ijl 


S'r     I'll  h  r'>     Ivis.v     I'liii  r.     \  i\  [I  r    , 
^■isi     I'riiii',     i;«,    4;{r).    aiul    in    Sin' Ill's 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


101 


iact  chat  the  ducuiuent  contains  those  improvements  in  the  lioquois 
language  which  Eleazer  had  many  years  before  invented. »ii  Eleazer 
must  therefore  stand  convicted  of  preparing  for  the  signature  and  oath 
of  his  feeble  and  distracted  mother  a  document  which  involved  wiiat  he 
Ivnevv  was  a  falsehood,  a  document  "indicating  an  apparent  purpose 
to  steal  the  desired  avowal  of  his  adoption  from  his  mother  without 
making  too  broad  an  issue."  Notwithstanding  the  duress  of  her  son's 
presence  when  she  executed  the  instrument  she  evinced  surprise  that 
he  should  claim  to  he  any  other  than  her  own  son  and,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  justice  who  took  her  oath,  did  not  know  the  meaning  of  the 
word  adopted  which  Eleazer  had  inserted  after  his  name,  and  did  not 
intend  to  say  what  she  was  made  to  say."'- 

III.  Tliis  affidavit,  written  in  Irociuois,  was  translated  into  Eng- 
lish and  Mr.  Hanson  corrected  the  translation. ^^^  What  shall  be  said 
of  this  affidavit  as  speaking  the  sentiment  of  Mary  Ann  Williams, 
when  we  rcHect  that  it  was  signed  by  the  mark  of  a  woman  close  on 
to  one  hundred  years  of  age,  that  it  was  prepared  in  Iroquois  by  an 
unscrupulous  and  scheming  man  interested  in  upholding  a  petty  noto- 
riety and  that  its  translation  was  corrected  by  that  unscrupulous 
schemer's  most  ardent  and  indefatigable  lieutenant?  And  yet  not- 
withstanding this  Eleazer  did  not  dare  formulate  such  language  as 
would  make  his  mother  deliberately  deny  her  child,  but  by  indirec- 
tion, by  insertion  of  the  word  "adopted"  in  two  places  and  by  denial 
of  unimportant  details  he  concocted  a  documeiu  which  has  not  helped 
his  case  in  any  particular  but  exposes  him.  and  I  fear,  Mr,  Hanson, 
to  great  odium. 

One  more  incident  in  Eleazer's  life  before  his  leaving  it:  Frequent 
mention  has  been  made  of  the  attetupts  t^  •  secure  from  the  government 
indemnity  for  the  losses  sustained  by  Thomas  Williams  in  the  war  of 
i8ij.  Not  until  the  death  of  Thomas  and  his  widow  was  the  proper 
rei)aration  made.  .Xnd  in  doing  this  justice  the  government  has  also 
done  justice  to  the  truth  of  history.  On  April  17,  1858,  the  House 
Committee  on  Military  AtTairs  reported  on  the  claim  of  "Eleazer  Wil- 
Hams,  heir  oi  Thomas  Williams,"  finding  the  latter's  distinguished 
and  unreconipensed  military  servi.-es  and  his  great  pecuniary  sacrifices. 
They  found  also  his  death  and  thf  death  of  his  widow  and  then 
found  that  she  left  "as  lur  sole  heir  and  devisee  her  son,  the  Rev. 
I^ieazer  Williams,  who  is  likewise  the  sole  surviving  son  and  heir  of  the 
said  Thomas  Williams."  Representative  Pendleton  of  Ohio,  an  .icute 
and  sagacious  lawyer,  reported  these  findings  and  that  they  were 
"abundantly  proven  by  the  evidence. "•'i'     .And  so.   \^itllin   five   nicnths 

.'ill.     i:ills'    in.'.i/.cr    W  illi,i!iis.    wis.    Illsf.    (',,11.    VIII.    .^.-l(l. 

.'U2.     Kolicrisiiii's  'J'lic  I.ii.st   nf  tlu>  lloiulii  ii  Sini'.v.   I'ntnnin'.^,   II.   ii    .-;.   !c'. 

:!i.'i.    Hiiiisiiiis  Thr  i.iisi  riincc.   \:u. 

.".II.     I!c|uirt     No.    ::ii;\.    :t."itli    ('iiij;.'ri.-s.    I'iixi    sc.wsliili. 


192 


ELEAZEH  WILLIAMS. 


I 


of  his  death,  Eleazcr  Williams  was  "abundantly  proven,"  by  evidence 
|)reserved  in  the  archives  at  Washington,  the  son— not  of  Louis  XVI.. 
the  heir— not  of  France,  but  the  son  and  heir  of  the  Caughnawaga 
Indians,  Thomas  and  .Mary  Ann  Williams,  whose  paternity  for  twenty 
years  he  had  disowned  but  whose  heritage  he  did  not  hesitate  to  ac- 
cept. 

He  died  August  28.  iS.sS.'H''  in  great  poverty,  sufTering  from  want 
ui  attention  and  from  the  necessaries  of  life.'""  He  had  dwelt  mostly 
alone  in  a  neat  cottage  erected  l)y  friends  subse(|uent  to  the  publications 
which  excited  so  general  an  interest  in  1853.  "His  habits  of  domstic 
economy  were  such  as  might  under  the  circumstances  be  alike  e.\- 
liecte<l  in  one  reared  as  a  prince  or  a  savage;  and  his  household  pre- 
sented an  aspect  of  cheerless  desolation  without  a  mitigating  ray  of 
comfort  or  a  genial  spark  of  home  light.  His  neatly  finished  room 
had  neither  carpets,  curtains  nor  furniture  save  a  .--canty  su()ply  of 
broken  chairs  and  invalid  tables;  boxes  filled  with  books,  the  gifts 
01  friends,  lay  stored  away  in  corners;  his  dining-table,  unmoved  from 
week  to  week  and  covered  with  the  broken  remains  of  former  repasts 
and  his  pantry  and  slec])ing-room  disordered  and  filthy,  left  upon  the 
visitor  an  oppressive  feeling  of  homeless  solitude  that  it  was  impos- 
>il>ie  to  ctiface  from  the  memory.""'' 

The  occupant  of  this  ill-kept  abode,  his  skin  turned  to  a  dark  red 
surely  betokening  his  Indian  descent,'' is  his  family  a  thousand  miles 
away  and  wilfully  deserted  by  himself,  his  hopes  and  ambitions  turned 
to  decay  and  ashes,  crept  scant  honored  into  a  lonely  grave.  His  son 
erected  a  monument  to  his  memory. 

It  nutst  have  been  observed  that  this  paper  has  considered  the 
•  lanphin  que,  .on  in  connection  with  Eleazer  Williams  entirely  from  the 
-American  standpoint.  Granted  that  certain  actions  of  the  French  revo- 
lutionary government  in  i/o;,  granted  that  certain  actions  of  the 
restored  Bourbon  kings,  indicated  a  doubt  of  the  death  of  young  Louis 
ni  the  Temple;  granted  that  the  frail  child  did  not,  as  a  matter  of 
history,  die  in  1795,  that  his  escape  was  accomi)lished,  that  he  received 
N'lfe  asylum  in  Italy,  in  England,  in  America  even,  yet  still  l^leazer 
Williams  was  not  he,     Hervagault.  Tcrsat.   I'ontolive,   Mathuriii-Iiru- 


yi.'.,  Kegi.stei-  XIH.  '.).-.;  Kviiiis'  .Si,,iy  (jf  L.iii.s  .Wll.  '.it;  .Siiiith's  KIcizit  Will- 
iams, Wis.  Hls(,  Coll.  VI.  Xil:  I':Kflnii(l'.s  iMiii.iiln  In  Oivcn  Uiiy,  D  m.i-  County  A.lvo- 
•iitu,  Decomber  22,  IS'.M:  llmitooirs  Klciizcr  Wllllains.  2(IS.  Mre.  WilUiiiHM'  niiiry 
liowovcr  makes  tho  date  Umr  ilny.«  oaili.M-:  ".Viuiist  i;4,  185s.  .Mr,  Wllliaii  s  died." 
A.S  she  was  not  with  lilni  at  Ills  dratli  and  the  ontr.v  wa,-*  ovid.nily  ma.l.'  s  mortliat 
later  than  the  evoat  I  am  Indlnod  to  .•uit'iii   ilu'  dali'  In  the  tcxi. 

.■{10.    An  account  ■■'•  Ms  funeral  Is  in  Unnloim's  Isli  azcr  Williams,  208. 

.".17.     Williams'   'I'choi'a  j-wa-ni'-Bcn.    Intnidiictlnn.   ]iat;c   l.'V 

;!18.  letter,  May  2,  18!H'..  of  KdwanI  II.  Wlllla'i  s,  .Ir. :  liiitlor's  The  St,,ry  or 
r..)iiiM   XVII..   The   \alion.    May  ;;|.    l.S'.K.    H7. 


HIS  fohkhunxehs,  himself. 


193 


ncau.  Ojarda.s,  Meves,  Ricl.emont.  Naundorfif,  any  one  of  the  brood 
of    Boiirbonic    upstarts,    had    better    reason    to    be    identified    as    that 
cscape.l  scon  of  unliappy  majesty  than  the  half-breed  Iroquois  whose 
mes   have    alien   unto   us   in   this   paper,    who   was   born    more   than 
hree  years  later  than  Louis,  at  a  place  removed  three  thousand  miles 
rom  the  rock  of  Louis'  cradle,  of  a  parentage  not  Capetian  and  Aus- 
trian, but  Mohawk  and  Massachusetts,   who  never  heard  the  eastern 
sv-as  ,  of  the  Atlantic  waves  an<l  who  never  elbowed  royalty  save  on  Lake 
Michigan  and  at  Green  Bay. 

It  must  also  have  been  observed  that  this  paper,  although  brought 
into    late   being  as  a   conse<,uenoc    of    The   Story   of   Louis   A'/ 7/     of 
/•/•omv   has    made    but   scant    mention    of   that    efTort.      Purposely' so 
Notwithstanding    the    author's    advertisement    that    her    volume    is    •, 
new  solution  of  a  historical  mystery",   notwithstanding  the  compli- 
ment  ot  Professor  Andrew  D.  White,  ex-minister  of  the  United  States 
o  Russia,  that  the  book  is  "beautiful  ami  interesting"  and  "must  take 
the  leading  place  in  the  literature  of  the  subject"  and  that  "it  makes  out 
a  strong  case  ^""  one  cannot  avoid  wondering  whether  the  author  de- 
sires to  be  taken  seriously,  whether  she  does  not  intend  a  huge  gro- 
tesque.    But  admitting  the  grave  purpose.-'^o  this  must  be  said-  In  the 
pages  devote.l  to   Elea.er   Williams  there  is   little  that  has  not  been 
condensed,    errors   an.l   all,    from    The    Lost   Prince:    the    book   abun- 
dantly deserves  the  characterization  of  The  Athenaeum,  "exceptionally 
tedious  and  ill-written  compilation"  ;•>:■•'  that  portion  relating  to  Eleazer 
Williams    overllows    with    statements    for    which    no    proof    is    ten- 
dered,   overllows    with    statements    lor    which    no    proof    can   be    ten- 
dered     Two   or   three    specimens    of  the   inaccuracies    must   be    pre- 
sented:    ^fr.s.  Evans  states  that  Thomas  Williams'  mother  was  stolen 
by  the  Indians  from  Deerfield  in  1704^^— Thomas  Williams'   mother 
was  not  born  until  after   I7i4.'^='      Again,   it   is   related   that   certain 
hrench  travelers  visited  in  1794  in  Stockbridge  "Mr.  Williams,  a  man 
ot   social  and   political   importance,   founder  of  Williams   College  "■''-* 
The  founder  of  Williams  Colleoe,  Colonel  Ephraim  Williams,  died  Set.- 
tember  8    i755.'=--   nearly   forty  years   before   the    Frenchmen   visited 
Stockbridge.     Mrs.  Evans  may  be  excuse<l  for  this  error,  for  she  bor- 
rowed it  irom  Mr.  Hanson.''^'"     Once  more:  the  world  is  gravely  in- 
formed that  the  prince  dc  Joinviiic  w:,s  "the  eldest  son  of  King  Louis 

319.  A.lvcrtisnmoiK    In   Tho   Alhoiinouui.    K..!).  .%    1S94 

m  TI,o  Allnntio  .M.,„tl,lv  (.Inno  ISW,   s.-,2)  soon>s  to 'think  l.or  sort  „is 

.5-1.  llio  Atlitmicuni    .No.  .'M.-.s,    Krlun.'iiv  :!     1,S!M     n    140 

322.  Pngo  15.  .....■.-. 

32.S     Tl.om,.s  WlULuns'   ,„<,(l,..,',s  molluM'  «,-,s   Im,  ei;.'hf  y,..„s  ol,l  iu  ITiU      Will- 
Iiinis    Itdliprt  WIIII;ini.«,   l,".  "'" 

'■'•■^\.    Kvnnn'   .Story  of  IauiIs  XVII,   -11,   V2. 
;iJ.-..     Ev.Totfs  AfiilnvN,   Oniti.ms  unci   .Si.eocli-*.    11.   Xn. 
:!2ii.     Hanson's   lliive  Wo  .i   lionih.in   Anlon^'   TsV     IMin.nMs,    I    211 


i 


19i 


KLKAZER  WILLIAMS. 


V  -h 


Philippe,"  and  that  when  he  arrived  in  America  in  1841  "one  of  his 
first  enquiries  was  whether  a  man  named  Eleazer  Williams  was  living 
among  the  Indians  of  Northern  New  York. "•■*-"  Tliese  two  clauses  rest 
on  equal  authority,  the  latter  on  Eleazer  Williams''-^  and  the  former 
on  nothing.  Surely  Mrs.  Evans  should  have  known  that  while  she  was 
writing  her  book  in  England  a  son  of  Louis  Philippe,  elder  ihan  de 
Joinville,  was  then  living  in  Europe.  The  due  de  Nemours,  the  sec- 
ond son  of  Louis  Philippe  died  aged  eighty-one  years  June  25.  1896.^-" 
Let  us  read  together  Macaulay's  criticism  of  Mr.  Croker:  "We 
do  not  suspect  him  of  intentionally  falsifying  history.  But  of  this  high 
literary  misdemeanor  we  do  without  hesitation  accuse  him — that  he 
has  no  adequate  sense  of  the  obligation  which  a  writer,  who  professes 
to  relate  facts,  owes  to  the  public.  We  accuse  him  of  a  negligence  and 
an  ignorance  analogous  to  that  crassa  ncgligcntia  and  that  cmssa 
ignoniiitia  on  which  the  law  animadverts  in  magistrates  and  surgeons 
even  when  malice  and  corruption  are  not  imputed.  We  accuse  him  of 
having  undertaken  a  work  which,  if  not  rfornied  with  strict  accuracy, 
must  be  verj  much  worse  than  uselesf  ad  of  having  performed  it  as 
if  the  difTerence  between  an  accurate  aiiu  an  inaccurate  statement  was 
not  worth  the  trouble  of  looking  iiit(.)  the  most  common  book  of  refer- 
ence."3-'i" 

It  is  difihcult  accurately  to  characterize  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hanson  in  his 
capacity  as  the  defender  and  promoter  of  lileazcr  Williams  and  his 
claims.  As  the  grand  nephew  of  Oliver  Goldsmith^-''^  he  may  be  ex- 
cused if  he  was  credulous  and  simple-minded.  Hut  so  much  imposi- 
tion was  practiced  by  Eleazer  Williams,  so  many  marvelous  tales  he 
related,  sn  many  dncunuiils  he  boasted  of  hut  never  exhibited,  so  many 
discrepancies  are  palpable  in  his  journals,  so  many  statements  unsub- 
stantiated, that  I  wonder  the  uttermost  extreme  of  gullibility  did  not 
become  susi)icious.  That  Mr.  Hanson  was  an  enthusiastic  autl  loyal 
advocate;  that  he  wrote  vigorous,  elegant  and  exciting  English;  tliat 
his  enthusiasm  became  contagious,  producing  adherents  who  are  still 
believers;  that  he  infected  other  reputable  ministers  whose  arguments 
and  evidence  were  superficially  powerful— all  these  things  are  admitted. 
Whether  Mr.  Hanson's  investigations  and  probings  left  him  still  in 
his  heart  a  believer  in  the  statements  set  out  in  The  Lost  Prince, 
whether  at   his   death''-   three   years   after  the   book    was   printed    he 


Piilii,TMi"s    I,    tOU;    Il.'insciri's 


."127.    Kviiiis'   Stoi-y  »t  I/iiiis   XVII.  ;iL'. 
.'12K.    Hanson's    Have    We   a    lioiirlioii    Aiimnj:    f 
The  Lost  Trinoe,  3.'!0. 

32t».    Itrvlow  of  Uovlcws,   .\iij.'iist.   Isoil.    I,"i2. 

330.  .Sec  Mnrnulny's  Crltloal  atu\  .MIsrclljiMi'uiis  Essays,  II,  is,  (Npw  Yoil;.   IsTsi 

331.  Piitnanrs,    II.    n.    k.,    127,    for   .Inly.    l,s«S. 

;t32.  .Mr.  HanRoti  dtml  lS,-.7;  Mr.  Collon  ill.  ,1  .Mar.  Ii  i;!,  IS.";  Hf.  Hawks  ilicil 
SeplnnlMT  2tl,  iscd  and  Dr.  VIntoii  illoil  .Sepinnljci-  2'.t,  1S72;  K.-v.  riiailcs  F.  Itoli- 
t^rtson,   Willi   was  ronsrcratiMl   hlsliop  of  .Mls-ourl   Oi-IoIht  2."i.   ISI.s.   ilj.'il    .May    I.    I.ssti 


HIS  FORERUNNERS,  HIMSELF. 


195 


looked  back  witli  satisfaction  and  self-approval  upon  Iiis  volume,  I 
have  no  means  of  knowing.  Certain  it  is,  however,  that  in  his  writings 
on  the  subject  now  in  hand  Mr.  Hanson  was  often  intemperate  and  not 
always  fair.  Notice  in  his  attack  upon  Dr.  S.  W.  Williams,  the  fol- 
lowing, italics  and  quotation  marks  included ::'•"■'• 

But  l)r.  Willlama  contradicts  himself  in  .a  iimnnor  which  shows  how  litllo 
reliance  can  ho  placeil  on  any  of  his  rccolloctions.  On  p.  174;i;i4  wc  are  lold  hy  him 
Mr.  Williams  never  ma.l,.  the  ' mo.l  ,li.t>u„  .-Ulnsion"  to  "his  .ver  having  had  an 
nterview  w  th  the   Prince  de  .loinvillc:"  and  lo!  on  p.   177  we  road.     ■  lleL,„.~n, I. 

to. I   ,n,.:u„l  u,y    f.;n,Uy    tUnt    tinr.   yisit  frn  „    th.  ,>nn v,,s   »;  rons.vnen.',.    nf  In. 

rPhinnnslni.  t„  his  ,yi,;,  -nul  that  ho  r.ooivcd  his  ,  resents  ITom  th.  sam.  cans. 
His  sl,„l,.s  here  wore  much  at  varianoo  will,  thoso  U.  the  n:a;-a/.ino,"  I  w.  ndcr  will, 
w>iat    In-.    Williams'   stories   are  at  variance. 

It  is  not  to  the  credit  of  Mr.  Hanson,  but  it  is  strict  justice  to  the 
memory  of  Dr.  S.  W.  Williams-a  most  exemplary  and  truthful  man-''' 
—to  write  that  the  former  has  deliberately  misquoted  the  latter.  On 
page  174  Dr.  Williams  is  recording  a  single  interview  with  Eleazer 
Williams— the  interview  in  1846  in  which  the  latter  gave  Dr.  Williams 
the  genealogical  particulars  (luoted  in  this  pai)cr— and  Dr.  Williams 
states  that  at  that  interview  Eleazer  gave  him  the  "notice  of  his  family, 
without  ever  making  the  most  distant  allusion  to  his  roval  descent  or 
to  bis  ever  having  had  an  interview  with  de  Joinville."'  This  is  not 
contradictory  of  page  177-Dr.  Williams  was  to  careful  to  make  such 
an  error.     Air.  ilanson  was  not  fair  to  accuse  him  of  it. ■'>•"• 

This  is  but  one  instance— c.r  itnn  disa-  oiiiiics.  I  am  constrained 
to  believe  that  in  his  loyalty  to  tiie  royal  pretensions  of  Eleazer  Wil 
Iiams,  in  his  pettish,  even  angry,  h<istility  to  opposing  views,  in  his 
surendering  the  calm  historical  judicial  sense  lo  the  acrimoniousness 
of  the  advocate,:'''-  ^fr.  Hanson  became  uncandid  and  disingenuous. 
From  that  criticism  his  method  cannot  escape;  while,  with  a  lull 
knowledge  of  Eleazer  Williams,  his  character,  his  disposition,  his 
racial  propensities,  Tlw  /.,..,/  I'riiur  with  its  formidable  .inay  of 
empty  stntements  can  be  pricked  and  proven  ;i  vain  bubble. 

WIELIAM    WARD   WKiHT. 


;i.'l."..  Hanson's   'I'lio  r,<is(    I'rin.',.,    1.J2. 

.■i.ll.  or  lir.  Williams'  edition  of  The  Uodeenied  rajitive. 

•■!.V,.  .Se(.  Ills  life  and  .liaraeler  In  llimllnntun's  S.   W.   Wlillam~     II    ;!,Sli 

a.'itl.  Mrs.  Evans  is  i-nlily  of  like  niilalrness.  Story  of  I,<,nls  XVIl,,',s5. 

''•"■"*'  •"-'••'l"«'  Mr.    Hanson  .oe  .slinnis'   Ii-o,,nois  lloiirlHin,   .South- 
i.s.vi.  p:iL'..  ir,;! 


.'i.17.     I'or  a  llk< 
ern   f.liiiirti  ily    lt,.\|,.u-.   ,|iilv 


appp:ndix  I. 


AU'llAliKTIi'VIi   LIST  OK   WOUKS  CITKD. 


I 


8. 

9. 

10. 
11. 
12. 

13. 
14. 

15. 

10. 
17. 

18. 
1!». 

20. 


Zl. 
24. 

•J5. 
20. 
27. 

■JS. 


AllilKiiic,   .Siimuol  A.,   Diclliinary  of  Eiit;Iisli  Utnalino  and   Il.iiis'i  ami   AnuM 

loan  autlioi-s.  3  v.  I'liila.   lSo9,   1870,  1S71. 
Allicniunmi,  Tlic.     Lidndoii.     Febiuary  3,   1S!)4,   pagu  HI. 
Atlantic  .Monthly,  The.    Boston.     June,   1894.     Vol.   LXXIll.   S,'jL' 
Balrd,   Elizabeth  T.     Indian  Cnstonis  and  Kai'ly  Koc.ille,  tlnns.      In    \\:sron>in 

Historical  Collections,   IX,  303. 
Baini,   Ilonry  S.     Early  History  and  Condition  of  Wisconsin.     Willi  noies   l.y 

Lyman   C.    Draper,      In    Wisconsin   Illslorical   Col  led  Ions,    II,    TJ. 
Baker,  C.  Alice     Ennice  William's.     In  IILstory  and  Procii  dlrgs  ol'  r,  cninunl. 

Valley  .Menioiial  .Vssoclailoti,   I,   18. 
Baxter.  .Tunics  I'.  The  pioneers  of  New  France  in  Nrw   Kii(.'!and.    .Ml  any.  IMM. 
Be;in(l.esne,     A.     de,       I.»)uis     XVII.       Ills     Life— His     .^iinrrinK     ITs     Ilrntl>. 

Translated  hy  W.   Hazlitt.     2  v.     I.,ondiin,   IS.Vi. 
Benuell,    K.    .S.    .\1,,    sccrel.iry    of    the    Bishop   of    Chester,    Em;l,iiid.       I.eli    r. 

.March  21,   18»(i. 
Boslon  Dally  .Tonrnal.     Octoher  17,  1848. 

Brown,   Cordelia.     SholHiysan,   Wisconsin.     Ijctler,   May   12.    IMli. 
Butler.  J.,nies  Davie.     The  Sloiy  of  lioiils  XVII.  of  Enin  c.     In  Tlir   Naiiiii 

Vol.   58.    No.    l,-,(l<>.    May  31,    18,14.   417. 
Cannlfl',  Wlllhun.     Tin-  Mediial   Profession  In   rppei-  <an  d:i,      17s'l-|vrit, 
Carpenter,    .Stephen    H.      Slictcli   <jf   Daniel    Itreail.      In    Wis.oii-in    Hisioiica! 

Collections,    HI     5fi. 
Catalogue  of  the  puhlleali<ins  of  the  Unlled  Slnlos,    177l-1s.'il,      Maih'  ly   I'.iii. 

Pcrlcy   Poore.     WashinKtoii,  LSS."). 
Catalogue  of  the  Wisconsin  Slate  Historical  Society,  ^dl,   \. 
Chauniont,   Ixi  Hay  do.     Ijettor.     In   Pntiiam's   Monthly   .\l.ii;:i/ini'.   .Inly.    i,s-,i. 

Vol.   II,    117. 
ChrLstian  Journal   and   Literary    Register,    Xew    V.irk,    l'e!.rn,iry.    1,'>ii7. 
Colton,  Calvin.     The  Problem  of  the  Ivost  Piinee.     lii  Piitn  m's  .Moniiily  M. - 

azlne,    February,    18."i4.      Vol.    HI,   202. 
Colton,   Calvin.     Tour  of  the  Anieilc.in  Lakrs  and  Am.  n-    tli.'   Inlaiis  <t  tie 

Northwest  Territory  in   1830,     2v,     Iy<indnii,   ls33. 
Colton,   .Tcrusha  >r.      Staleimnt.      In   Williams'    Id  deein,  i|   I'aitive.    171. 
Da  Costa,   Benjamin  F.     The  Story  of  SI,   Kegis's   Bill,     In  (iiilavy,  .Limniry, 

1870.      Vol,    IX,    121. 
Dartmouth   College  Centennial,   ISOO. 

Davidson,   .Tohn   N.     In  Fiinami'd  Wisconsin.     Mlhvnulee,    IR'.ri. 
Deun,  James,   Hanover,   New   Hampshire,      liclter,   Nnveiiibe  ■    12,    1774. 
Do  Qulncey.   Thomas.      Autobiographic   Skelcliis.      Bosioi,    1S"3 
Detroit  Cay.ette,     July   28,   1S20;  July   13.   1821. 

Draper.  Lyman  C,     Additional  Notes  on   Kleazrr  Wllllaiiis      In  W'spoiisln  IIIs- 
lorleal    l'..lleetlons,    VIH,   .'l.");!. 


ELKAZER  WILLIAMS. 


197 


211.     Diirrip,    Daniel    S         \     VI  ,.i,.i,    .  p    t  i  „    v 

'•olleotlons,    vn     .,5^  '      '"""       '°   ''''''"'''    ""^"■•-' 

;io,!'lS''     '"'"""^  '"  ^'■"-  '•■-'«'-"'"'^  New  Y„r.<.     4v.     New,!,;:;;!: 

ri;!.     Kllis.  Albert  U.     Finy-r.,,,.  Vo.rs'   l.cllocU.us  .,f  M,.„  .n.l  Kvont.  i.,    W  s 

lorifiil    (ollrcl  iMiis,    VII,    L'OT 

;M.     Klli.    AUK.n  U.      Ue^lWlloUs  or  U,.v.   Kl...,.,.   WHIia.n^.  „,   Wi-con.,,,  His 

toi-lcal    (Villerdons,    vm,    s-j-^  '"  '"^ 

.'*.-.     Kills     Mbenti.      S,„Me   .\,..„uMt   nf  „„.  Aclvvut  of  tl,o   N.w  Vol.    l,„lia„.  into 

-•     '.>.i'    t,    hhanl.      A.l.lress  B,.,ore   M,o  A,Iol|,l,lo   Cnlo,,  of  Wlinanm  (J  ul  « ■ 
-  UK„.st  I.,   1837.  ..ntUled  Superior  ..u,  IV.puNa.  K,,,,,,,  ,.  ,.     n,   Lve     n^: 
).;a  >o„s    ana    Spcrbos    „n    Vari.,ns    O.vasb.ns,    v.,.    ,[..    ,on.      IL!,!!,, 

;«'.     I-ssemleu,  ,l„h„,     A   s,.,-,„„„  ,„,,„,„„   „.  „.,.   |,,,^,   ,  ,,„„„^„  ,,„^„   ^,„..      . 
1.00..,,..  .1.  ,,..•„,,  Indians  sw„„ose,l  ,0  ,„  ,„o  „,.,v,„lauts  „       „n  ;     Wi 
uun.s.   Auyns,   -7,    1837.     .;,o..nli..l.l.   IK37 

■"'■     """"?■  i":     ""''  ''"  '''"•'    '"■  ■=--•— ^  o''  tho  Past  Slx,y  V,.„.. 

41.     ';•;-".    Samnol  A.      .frotou   Lnring   „„■   lu.lian    War.,      «ro,.,„.    ,!,S3. 

■J.*.    <.roon  Itaj-  Guzcite,  .Inly,   18S(J. 

-13.    Grignou.   An,us,ln.     .s.venly.,wo  Yea,.-   l(....„Il,.,.,lons  of  Wise  nsin      In  Wis 

oonsiu  Historical  ('oUertlons.  Ill    1!I7 
41.     HanM,    M,^.   L.    M.      „i.,„,y  ,,   ,„„,ison   Conn.y.    N„„.    y,,,,.      s,ra,n.., 

-.5,     '--.'^.nn   1,.     ,,.,.   w,.  a   lM„..,o.  An,.,„.  UsV     >n.r„„„.  t..,.  .„  y, is 

I.^  Hanks,      In    l'„in..„M's    .Monlhly    .Ma,uazine,    F,  hrnary,    Isr.ll,      v„|,    ,. 

"■  """TnuH".-  ;r ;":?'" '^""^ ■  - •"—  ---v ^.a.. 

.V  nar,J:r;^";;;u,::"r?.';si,"''^-  "^ ^'"■""•^■"^-  "■^^^''-'  -- 

li».    Illslorleal   .Magazine,   New   York,     Octnln-r     l,s.vi    ,1    30.. 

"'■     '''^'Zw    I'V'uT-     '"  "'"""  '""^^  M"«-in,:";„  ,„.,no.a,io  Rovieu 

."!>.   l-U,   11:  1;,  w,.u,n.-,   l|l,s„„.y  of  ,1 ,|,,,i„.   .< ,-  ,.„„|^  ^v,    ,„, 

Krnnep,    l,y    H.    l!,    Fjv,   nr   \     I!     V]y 
ni,     Hollan.1,  Josl.l,  U.     HIs.ory  of  Wes,P,.„  Mas.nehnse.ts    2v,     S„rl„u«,.Ul     isn , 
■;;        ":;;■•""■';;■    ;'H«inal  I.Msof  KaH^am.  ..  An.o,.,.a.     iLon.   W  . 

"""^i„  ;■■••""    ■;  '•      -^   "'^•■■••^   ■•'■  ^'^   l™'-  and  FranUlln  roun.l,.,   Nou 

lork.      .\lliafiy,    l,s,"p;!, 

54.     Honse    of    Ko,„.es,.„,anv,.s-     lloi.n-,,     N„,     S3,    34ti,    ,'on.res.,    Thl,d    S.ssi.,„ 

•Mado  .laminry   Ki,    ik,'-,7   Uy    Uilliani   K     S.ii.p 
on,     Ilonso   of    Kopreseniatlves-    Uopo,,,    No,    :m.    35th    r„„„v..,     VUsi    Ses«i„n 

Mad,.  April   1,,   isTuS.  I,y  «!,„r«..  II.  I'mdiolnn, 
■'<-     H„y,,    Kp„,,,,,„,      Anli.narlan   U.soarcla.s:    ,• p,isln.   a    llls,„rv  „f  the   In- 

.11"..   war,.   In   tl„.   Tonnlry    II  ,rdorln,.   .•onn,...n..„(    Ki„.r  ..,„d   I-arls    \d 

.Incciit.     firei'iiilold.   l»i,euili,T,   ^s■'l 
■-7     UnnH„K,on    llcl.n  M,  Mf •  ,s„.,,,,„„  w     svilllanw,  m  .Mon.nrial  I.I„.,.ap>do- 

•Now    I'.nKland    Hlni.nle  (ioiH.nloKlf.il   .Sirloty,   II,   ,Ms9. 


198 


ELEAZER  1 1  ILL  I AMS. 


I 


til 


,■)!!. 
BO. 

lit. 

Co. 

(ttt. 

(i7. 

(is. 

0!>. 
TC. 
71. 


74. 


80. 
81. 

82. 

■sa. 

84. 

STi. 


80. 
87. 
88. 

.Si>, 


IIuiiliioii,  Diiiiicl  T.  V.  Elonzer  Williams.  In  M  ni.ilai   liioprapliKs.   Nrw   l".ii!;- 

lilllll    llisUlliO    (JrlU'llIO.ttlClll    SlH'icl.V.      111.     .'."C 

.Tdinvillo.    Friinc.'ipis   V.   V.   L.   M.   (rOili'viiH.   pri' i>c  do.      .\.'em  lirs.     Trmslnii'il 

liy  Liidy   .Miiry  I>>y(l.     New   Voik  iind  l.omlon,   lS:i."i. 
Jones,  Artliur  K.,   Moiitroal.     I.etlei-.  M:iy  15.  1!S90. 
Kiiizio,  JiiHotto  .\.     \\:ni-lniii,   tlie   "(aily  day"   in   Itic   N.inlnvesi.     Cliicai-'n, 

is:.7. 

I.i(linarlini',   .Miilimisc  do.      Histniy  nf  the  Giniiidits.     3..      Nc.v   YurU.   18IN. 
Ijuiil),    Mary    .1.      History    of    llic    Oily    (if    .\i'\v    Yoi'li.      2v.      .New    YdfU    mid 

Chicago,    1877. 
lA'llri's    ('(lifiantis    et    ciirioiM's    (omenint    r.\.-j  ,    l'.\fr<iU'    <l    1  .Viiu'  iqiir 

Vol.    I.      Paris.    ISilS. 
I/<uif.'ft'lIo\v,   Homy  W.,  cdilur,     rooms  of  l'la<e.s— .\mei'iou.     l!o.sloii,   1870. 
]i«)iij;mond(i\v    contciinial.      riMicodiiigs    of    tlio    ointemiial    celobr.ilii.n    of    tlu' 

inoorporaticiii   of   llic    (own   of    [.  imimoadow,   ()ctnl)or  17,    Is.*^!! 
Ixist  Dauiihin  of  I'lanoo.     In  .Milwaiilioo  Sonlin.l,   December  2!>.    1891,   copied 

fi'our  (iieon   Hay  Advoialc. 
Mi'Call.    Janus.      Journal    of   a    visit    to    Wisconsin    In    1830.      In    \Vls<orislii 

Historical   Collections  XII.,    170. 
Marsli,    Cultliig.    On    the    Sto  ■kbridiios.     In    Wi.'^rousin    llist.'ri.ai    rulloctlons. 

IV.,    200. 
.Martin.   Dobonili   I!.     lirply   lo  .Mrs.    Kvaiis     In  Grcin  Hiiy  Gazitc.   Ju  y  28, 

lSlt5. 
M.'iilln.    Ellzalirtli    S.      The    UiiiTowncd    llapsburg.      In    The    Ladies'    Re|ios 

itory,    Fotiniary,    1874.    SO. 
Martin.    Moriraii    L.      Adilrcs.     hefnre    the    State    Historical    S  cUly    of    Wis- 
consin,   January   21,    1851.      Cnon    Bay,    1851. 
M.irtin,     Morgan    I>.     Nanativo,      In    Wisconsin    Historical     dlloctions,     \I  , 

385. 
Massjiclnisolts    Historical    Society    I'rocerdiD.u's,    18i!0-7O. 
Matlics,  Georgi!  V.     Pretender  to  a  Throne.     In  New  York  Times,  Fehinarv  10, 

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.Miink".    William.     Itoll   of  the   Uoyal   Coilcgo   of   Physicians,    151S-IS(M).      Ijon- 

don,    1801. 
N'cal.  Daniel,     HIslory  of  the  Pi.iitaiis,  2v.     N.   Y.   18(3.   1.s44. 
Neville,    i:ila    H.;    Martin,    .Snrah    G.;    Martin,    Hehorih    li.      Illsiori.-    Giicn 

Lay,    lt'h!M84(>,      Green    Bay,    18!i3. 
Now  Englainl  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register.     Boston  1847-1890     50v. 
New    England    Historic  Genealogical    Society.      Rolls    of    iiiembera,     1.SU  1800. 

Boston   1801. 
New  York.     Hociiinenliuy   History  of      Edited   liy   E.   B.    O'Callaghaii.    .M,   Ii.. 

4    V.       .\lliany    1840-l.s,")l. 
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by  E    Ii.   OCallagliim.   M.   I>.     10  v.     Alb  my  IvSH  1S.-.8. 
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O'Brien,  Anna  I.   Account  of  Elear.er  WlllinmR.   In  Cliloapo  Times.   September 

18.   188(1.   and  under   lltle   "The  Mystery  of  Life."   In   Y.  mwlne's   News, 

September   lit,    1,'sSO, 
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P.irkman,   Francis      Tlie  old  U'-glnie   in  ('aiiadn.      Ho-ton    IsOl. 
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Indians.     Philadelphia,    1850, 


HIS  FOHERVSNERS,  HIMSELF. 


199 


"".     '--'^-^^^    valley   Men.onal   Asso.l.ti.n.     History  and   i>,o,  c.din,.      Vol.    1. 

Ul.    Pi.lnam',s   Magazine.    K.li.urlal.     July.   18.18.      Vol.    II.    n.    s.    12ti 

'.'-'.     lian,.  Ja„a.,s.     A   TioaUso  „n    Fact..     4,1,   Am.    K.lltion.      Xew   York.    J800. 

'.'1.     K.la(lon«  ,l.-s  Ji-snlus.     l/.,n  l.iM.      Vol.   I.  .jaeb,,-,  l,s58. 

'.».-..     U.vi.w    of    K.vi.w...    New    V.,rK,    Au;:,hi.     I8!m.    ,,ag,.    152. 

'M.     Kohertson.    ,;i,arl...    F.      Xlio   l.u.t   of   th.-    l!ou,boM    Story.      1„    r,„„a„rs    .Ma.- 
azilll,    .Iiily,     l.>j(jjj_     II      „      g     ,jy 

ii^'     I-nT'^f  """"?   ''"'^""'"      '^^'"■"'"■^'    ^«"^'    "•   ^-'"-      ••«'"-   «^'"    '-t.os." 

-'0,    l.v.l.   l,y  ,iolm   p.   Ujile. 
uu.    S..iw..a.it.  .lohii,  .sioikiMid-c.    XAMtT.     o  M)oi-  ::4    i7-i;i 
IW.     Sl,.-a.    John    (J.      Letter   .,„    Klouxer    Wiilia,,,..      ,„    a„k,1,.u,.    H  slorical    Ko,- 

of<l.   .Inly,    \ST2,   3uo. 
U'l.     .Sholdon.    (Jeorco.      Uls.ory   of   l.ee.liel.l,    Iti3i:-18.M!.      ^i^      ISHo-C 
lU..     .slu;l,loi,.    Grow.     I),erli,.l,l.       I.^itei-,    April    .i.    ISUO 
1":!.     SIhley      Tohn     I.an«,lon.        Hio.rapi.ieal     Sl<..t..|,e.     .X    .ir.ulu.te.     „f     Harvanl 

l.'iUversily.     3   v.     Caiiihrlilgo,    iss.".. 
KM.     Si^'ourm.y,    I.y.lia    H.n.iloy.      Tli>.   Jiell   of  .St     I{o>;ls 

105.    .Sinnns,    Wlllian,  ,1.     TIk.   lro,„u,l«   r.unrl.  „.     lu  .s„,„l,e,„   .i„,„u.rlv    Keview 
July,    JH,»J.    1 H. 

lU(i.     S„,i,i..  .Jolu.   V.     Kleazer   WiUia.ns  an,l   U.e  I.st   rrin.e.      ,„   Wls.onsiu   His- 

toric:il    Colleclioii.s,     \'l.    ,!I|,S. 
Iti7.    .sioddard,    ,(o|,!i.      .foiirnnl.      In    UeKlster.      V     26 
108.    Storrs,    lUoliard   .S,    I.<„if:,neaaow.      L,  tfr,    April   .;     l«ii 
10'-».    Slono,  WiUian,  1.   Lire  ..„„l  ri.nes  nf  Sir  Wlliia,,,  .roh,,.,  n!  ■>  v     VU  any    Is.r, 

110.  Sn.horland.   .lanu..      K.rly    Wiseonsln   lOxploration   and    So.fe.n.at       In   W  ^ 

consin   Ul.storical  L'ollootl..ns  X    UTO 

111.  Ta««.my,     cyprien.       IM.  tio.nair,.     c;w„a:o.i„e     oes     Fa.uiie      .ualina.s 

^.s^U.Fondanond.iaCione.,,.,p,-ans.,o:,r..    .V.    M,,n.e„,. 

U."..     Van     K,.„s.s,.laer     Cortl,  ndt.       Illstori.al     Dlsn.nrse    of    tl.e     liattle    o,'     Lake 
<.ior;r,.,    l,,v,.      I'liiladelpMa,    ISTxl 

'"■     """L  s':;;'";:      '•";"^^^■"•    »""    '^l--'    ^Vil.l,,n,s,     won.    T„ey    Ueallv 

ir,      u-.,,.,      V     ;       ■     r""'     ^"""^""''^  Ma,.-H/i,.o.     Sepie er.    lMi8.    II.   n.   s.  XJI 

■;.         ad,    And,vw    U.      ,  ;,.„ealo,i,  al   History  ,.f   ,„e   Ki.e    Kaadly.      B  ,s,o„     185  s 

..    ;-;--'.  T.  A      T,,,,  1.  St  Prinee.  In  Coioa«o  Inter,  .can,  February  ,       ':,,. 

H..     U  nation      l-ranets    and    S,i.l,-.,    Alf„.d.       M,.,ll,  nl    .,„,•  .p,„d  nc.      a    v.       Pi" 

adidplila,    issi,  ' 

''^-     ^^■'"■" !<•    <'""••'<•-    I.       Alilwank.v.      inlorvUnv.      Mn.lM,,, 

loi  Hal    (  <i||i'i  I  lulls.    \      ;|->i 
.-...     Wiii„.a.d,     U-iliiani    v.       itisto.y    oC    Sen,  ol     S,i,„  r>  isi,  n     in     Wise  nsin.       „i 

U'iseoiisin    llislorleal    C.lir.i  ion-     V     T,- 
1:^1       """^'-'T.    '•n-les        Keeon.tions    of   a    -IW    T,i,.,„„|     wis.-on-iu    in     ,8:2 

'"    ^^''^ '^'"    irislorloal    folleotioiis.    I     (M 

,'f'    ,\^..'"I"'    """'""   "■■      '■' ''   "•'""•  •'""'■'■I'.     .Miluank,..,    !>,;„ 

1-1.     U  dd,^,  Alexatid,  ,-.     r,,o  Hourhon  Who  Nov,.-  n-i.ned.     In  Tlio  Knlelo  r.oeker. 

.Novetnlpir.     I.N.i,S,     MI        m  ">.i><-i, 

.::..     WilllautH     ,.,uar.l    H     Jr.      l:,,..  r   Uillian..      ,„    r,,e   Nat.  n.    Vol.    :s     Vo 

ir>U.   .Tune    I  I,    Ksni,    111'., 


200 


KLKAZER   WILLIAMS. 


V     '■ 


125. 


VIA. 


120. 


i;)o. 

131. 

I  In  Ills   i 

1.^2. 

l.^3. 

KM. 

i:!i;. 


i;!7. 


Willhiuis,    Kdwiird    II.    jr.      liobiTt     Williams    (f    Uuxlmr.v.    Mass..    nnl     lils 

Dcsccmluuts.      With    ndilpiiila.       Nowporl.     It.     I.,     1891. 
Williams,    Kihviird    II.    Jr..    Hi'tlili'liein.    r,'iiiis.vl\.iiii,i.      I.i.ncis    .\|ii-il    il.     i:!. 

ir.,  20.   May  2.  8,   11,  l.->,  lS9(i. 
Wlllliims,    Kloiizer.       Lifp    of    Tc-lio-ia-Kwa-no  gi.'U,    .\li:is    Tnoiuas    Williams. 

With   IntiodiRlion  jiiid   Notes  hy   I'rankllii   B.    Ilmigli.     Alliiiiy.    18u'.». 
Williams,     Kleazor.       Two    Homilies:      Tho     Sahiitluii    >•{    Sliiii'is     Thniimh 

Uiolies  of  DiviiK!  Grace.     Drilveted  .\upiisi   8.    1811.   in   tlio  Audi(n<'e  ol' 

tlio    Oneida    Indians    at   Tlioir    Eighth   Triennial    Anniversary    S;nrp    lie 

Conversion  of  000  ragans  of  Tliat  Trlhe  to  the  Clirl.itian   Kalili.     With 

Appendi.v.      (ireen   Bay,   1S12. 
Williams,   ,Tohu.     Tlio   Hedocnicd   Cnptlvo   lietnrnliig   lo   Zien.      Added    hy    S. 

W.    Williams:     Biosir.'u.hy   ,if  tln'   Aiith  ir.    .Vppondix  and    No  os.      Nortli 

aiupton,   1853. 
Wllliam.s,   .\Ia<lelalno  II,      Mannseript  Diary. 

Williams,    Steiil.en   W.      The   (ienealegy   .ind    Hisiory   of   liio   Kamily   or   Wll 
n   Amerlea.     fjrcenlltld,   1847. 
Miiisor,  .Justin.     Carder  to  Frontenac.     Bo-teii  and   New   Y.rli.    1804. 
Winsor,    Justin,    Kdltiir.      Narrative  and   Critleal    lllslory   of   North    Americ.i. 

Vols.   IV.,   v.,    Bo.ston  and   .\.  w  Y<,rk,   n,   d. 
World,    The.      New    Voik.      Septoniher   I'.i,    1807. 
Harper's  New  iloiilhly  .Magazino,  Jine   \>-9,2,  i  age  t4>>. 
.Seneea  Nation  of  Indians  v.   Chrisiy.    l:t  Hun  ."24:    12;  \.   Y     122     \fV   V     S 

283. 
Tuelier,  The  I!ev    W.  J.,  P.  D..   Han  ,vei,   N.   tl,      I.elter,    August  2:.,   18;i(!. 


APPENDIX  II 


Children  of  the  Itev.  John  and   Kunlco  (Mai her)   Williams 


i 


Name. 

Date  of  Birth 

Date  ot  Death     i                      Ilcmnrks 

Kleazer 

.Samuel 

Kathtr 

.Stephen 

lUialUin 

Ihinico 

John 

Warhain 

Jemimn 

.rerus:ha 

Jornsha 

July  10.  1088 
January  21,  1000 
April  10,  1091 
•May  14,  1093 
.MlV  1,  1095 
.SeplemI  er  17,  IO'.h; 
.I.'iPiiary  19,  KHKS 
September  10,  1099 
Septemlier  3,  1701 
Seiitemlier  3,  1701 
January  15,  1704 

1  - 

^<eptcmher2I.  1742|Minister  at  .Mansliehj,   Conn.      " 
Juno  30,  1713              Tuwn  eleik  of  Deirlield 
March  12,  1751          j  Wit,..  ,d'  Itev.  ,Insepl,  Meaehani 
June  10,  17S2             .Minlsler  .at  I.oiigiiiea(hiw  m  yeais 
.i|irll  15,  1090 

17S0              -<'.i|.lh(?  at  C.MUghiiauaga 
Feliruary29,   I7ii4     Killed  at  Ihc  massa.Te 
.runo22,  1751            ;.MIiilsler  at  Wallhain 
Septemher  11,  17oli 
Septemlier  10.   1701 
February  29,  1704   1  Killed  at  the  massacre 

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AI'IEVDIX    IV. 


THK     HKLI.    OK    ST.     REGIS, 
by 

Lyilia  Hiintl'  y  Sliionrricy. 


The   red    men   (aiiie    In    tlioir   pride    niul    wnitli. 

Deep   vciiKoimce   tind    ilieir  eye. 
And    the    Itlood    of    Iho    while    was   in    tlnlr    patli, 

And    the   flame    fioiii    liis    p^rot'    rose    hl;;h. 


Then    down    from    (lie    Imrnlni.'    cliiircli    tliey    tore 

The   bell   of   timefiil   sound, 
And    on    with    tlielr    captive    (ruin    tliey    lioie 
That   wondeiful    ililnf;    to    tlulr   u.itlv   bIhjP.  , 

The  null'  I'auaili.in  lunircl. 

But   now   and    then,    witli   n    feari'ul    tone, 
It   struck   on   ti.cir  startled   ear,-- 

And  sad  it  was.  mid  the  nioiiiitiilns  lone. 

Or    the    ruined    tempest's    mutleied    moiin. 
That    terrilde    voice    (o    hiar. 

It   seemed    like    the   question    that   stir.s    ihe   suul 

Of   Its   secret   guod    or    111. 
And    they    quaked    as    its    Btcru    and    sobmn    toll 

Re-eclioed   from    reck    to    hill. 


b 


.\nd    they    started    up    in    tlielr    b:oi;eii    ili'tam. 

Mid  tlie  lonely  fnrcst  sl.aile. 
.■Vnd    thonglit    liiat    tlicy    heard    ilie    d.viiig    .-eriMm, 
.And    saw    the    liluod   ol'   slaughter   slrraiu 

Afresh    tiimugli    tlie    village    gh'de. 

Then   they   sat    In  cminoil.    Iliose    .hleflains   olcl. 

And   a    miyiity   pit    was    m.-idr. 
Where   the    lake    with    lis   silver    waters    rolle.l 
They    hurled    that    hell    'iieatli    tlie    verdant    lu  niM, 

.\iid    er<ls^;ell    tliemselvis    .ind    prayed. 

.\iid   there    till    a.  stalely    pow  w^u    mme 

It   slept   in   its   tomb    furgnt: 
With    a    mantle   of   fur,    and    a    hrow    ol'   ilaiiir'. 

He    stood    oil    (hat    btirlal    spot: 


ELMAZEIi   WILLIAMS. 

Tl.oy    «lieele.l    (ho   duii.e    with    iis    mjstic    round 

At    the   stormy    iniilnlKht    Ijoiir. 
And    a   (IcaJ   nian'H   hand   on    his    l)n.ust    ho    h.und 
And   Invoked,    eio   l,e    broke    that   awfnl    irr.Mind, 

Tliu   doiiion.s   of   pride    and    power, 

Then    ho    raiso.l    iho    i,ell,    with    a   nameless    lite, 

Whirh    iioNo    hut    hliiisrlt    iiiiglit    ti'U, 
111    l.laiikct   and    h..ar-skiri   ho    b.nind    it   tiirht, 
And   it  jouriio.ved    in   silence   both   day    and    iiiiiln, 
So   slrong   wa.H    that    nmsir   Bpell. 

It   spako   no  moro,    till   St.    Itoyis'    tuwev 

In    northern    skies   mipomod. 
An,l    their    logonds    ext,d    that    pow  uoWs    powur 
Which   lulled    (hat    knell  like    the   poj  py    n  ,wcr. 
As  coiiscIeBci'  now  sluniliercth  a  liltio  h..nr 

In  the  cell  of  a  heart  tliaCs  seared. 


203 


■f  • 


No.  1. 

No.  a. 

No.  8. 
No.  4. 
No.  5. 
No.  6. 

No.  8, 
No.  9. 


By  Montgomery  E. 


PARKMAN  CLUB  PUBLICATIONS. 

Nicholas  Perrot;   a  Study  in  WiseooHin  History.    By  Gardner  P. 

Stidcney,  Milwaukee,  1895.    16  pp..  paper ;  8to. 
Exploration  of  Laljo  Superior;  tho  Voyages  of  Radisson  and  Groseil. 

lierH.  By  Henry  C.CampbeU,  Mil waulteo,  1806.  22pp.,paper;8TO. 
Cheyaller  Henry  de  Tonty ;    Hia  Exploits  in  the  Valley  of  the  Miseis- 

Hippi.    By  Henry  fi.  Legler.  Milwankee,  1896.  22  pp.,  paper ;  8to. 
The  Aboriirlnes  of  the  Northwest;  a  Glance  into  the  Hcinoto  Past. 

By  Frank  T.  Terry.    Milwankee.  1896.    14  pp.,  paper;  8vo. 
Jonathan  Carver;  His  Trarels  in  the  Northwest  in  1766-8.    By  John 

O.Gregory.    MUwankee,  1896.  28  pp.,  1  plate,  1  map,  paper;  8to. 
Negro  Slavery  in   Wisconsin.    By  John  N.  Davidson.     MUwankee, 

1896.    28  pp.,  paper;  8 vo. 

IN   F>RECSS. 

Charles   Langlade,   Wisconsin's  First  Settler. 

Mcintosh. 
The  Germaa  Voter  in  Wisconsin  Politics.    By  Ernest  Brnncken.   This 

paper  mil  cover  the  period  preceding  the  organization  of  the 

Republican  party. 

IM    F»RttF»  A  RATION. 

Boatwick,  M.  M.- Ancient  Copper  Minors  of  Lake  Pupflrior 

Bruncken,  Ernest-  The  German  Voter  in  Wisconsin  Politics, 
will  include  the  period  cf  the  civil  war. 

Campbell,  Uenry  Colin-Monard,  the  Jesuit.     Migrations  of  the  Hurons. 
Wisconrin      '  '    '^"^''    Nelson  -  Beginniogs   of    Higher   Education   in 

Gregory,  John  G.— Soffrnge  in  Wisconsin. 

Kelly,  Frederick  W.-  Local  Govemmeut  in  Wi^condn. 

La  Boule,  Rev.  Joseph  8.-AUouez.  the  Father  cf  Wisconsin  Missions. 

i-«Klr,  Henry  E.— Mormons  in  Wisconsin. 

Mcintosh,  Montgomery  E.- CoK.per«tive  Communities  in  Wi^juniiin. 

Millor,  Prank  H.- Polanders  in  Wisconsin. 

Starkey.Dan  B.- Wisconsin  and  the  Revolutionary  Epoch 

«n,i  tK°7'  S""'""  P-Certain  Vegetable  Pood  Products  of  Wisconsin 
and  Their  Bearing  upon  Indian  Life.  T 

Terry,  Frank  T.—  Wisconsin  Aborigines. 

Wight,  William  Ward- Joshua  Glover,  the  Fugitive  Slave. 


This  paper 


T  K^^  «''*"*"'  ComiiTTBiB.-  Henry  Colin  Campbell.  Henry  K.  Logler  and 
John  G.  Gregory. i 

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of  the  Northwest.  Its  publications  are  printed  for  private  distribution  by 
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Correspondence  may  be  addressed, 
,'^  Gabdnbk  P.  Sticknbt,  Secretary, 

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